THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EVERYDAY OBJECT: INSTALLATION ART IN TURKEY AND THE CONCEPTUAL PRACTICE OF ŞAKİR GÖKÇEBAĞ

Abstract

This study examines installation art, which gained visibility in Turkey from the 1980s onward, through the axis of the transformation of the everyday object, focusing on the conceptual practice of Şakir Gökçebağ. Unlike traditional art forms, installation art transforms the relationship between object, space, and viewer, removing the spectator from a passive position and incorporating them into the process of meaning production. Gökçebağ reconfigures everyday objects by detaching them from their functional contexts and reconstructing them on new aesthetic and semantic planes; in this respect, he occupies a distinctive position within both conceptual art and minimalist aesthetics. The research adopts a qualitative approach; data obtained through a semi-structured interview with the artist, literature review, and visual document analysis were evaluated using the descriptive analysis technique. The findings reveal that the everyday objects in Gökçebağ’s works gain a “universal recognizability” through formal interventions, while the interaction established with the viewer transforms into a conceptual inquiry through spatial experience. In conclusion, Gökçebağ’s productions offer an original contribution to the development of installation art in Turkey, both in terms of object aesthetics and the East–West synthesis, thus providing a significant example for understanding the conceptual orientations of contemporary Turkish art.