Huo Rf

MIGRATION

I can start with a question by Judith Butler: “Whose lives are considered livable?”

“Whose lives are considered unlivable?”

This inquiry can lead up to broad political discussions. However, I need to proceed with Huo Rf’s piece 15TL in mind. 

As a matter of fact, I observe that the artist has been thoroughly dealing with state’s migration policies in this piece. 

In tackling with a Syrian family’s unseen, unheard narrative, Huo Rf strives to convey the traces of the war to the viewer. In its transformation, 15 TL turns into a tool for witnessing. 

Prior to unpacking the ways this piece leaves traces, we have to take into account the political ramifications of the issue at hand. 

Migration law is a body of laws that attempts to regulate who is allowed and not allowed to live as an individual within the national frame, because it is imperative to determine what constitutes a nation.
Masses that flee wars are always subjected to strict measures at the borders. This situation paves the way towards illegal paths at all times. 

15 TL, presents the havoc caused by migration policies by pointing out such government mechanisms that lead to price negotiations (15 Liras) for illegally passing the border. The piece includes the crisis of those unrecognized, denied bodies fleeing the Syrian war. While applying three separate five lira bills on copper, the artist also makes sure to include the border patrol and a map of the points of entrances / exits at the border by drawing them on the piece’s surface. 

Copper as a pure substance enters the picture at this point, narrating the transparencies of these markers with its conductivity. Meanwhile, Huo Rf collects and sews together the leather pieces in multiple colors resembling skin tones, which he came across in Sultanahmet abandoned on a pavement. In other words, the markers on the copper are constructed on a ground, which consists of an assemblage of found pieces.   

I started the text with a question by Butler. By underlining the question “Whose lives are considered unlivable?”, Huo Rf draws attention to the political processes Syrian immigrants go through. He transforms the experience he has witnessed into a piece that embodies his own perspective.

Meanwhile, the tragic event meandering on the surface of 15 TL preserves its relevance, still waiting to be recognized.

İlker Cihan Biner, 2021

Translation to English: Gülşah Mursaloğlu