Erdem Taşdelen
48 individual business cards sandwiched in plexi sheets
56 x 54 cm (22" x 21")
2011
This project comprises a colourful grid of 48 business cards that were designed for everyday use, each featuring a unique personal descriptor such as “conflicted antagonist,” “melancholic migrant,” “hesitant pluralist” and “drama queen.” These cards fulfill their expected function of providing contact information, while also suggesting a preference for identifying oneself in reference to political inclinations and persisting habits rather than occupation. The self-ridiculing descriptions on the cards can be construed as a mockery of the practice of networking, but the ongoing use of these cards indicates that they are not exempt from that very practice themselves.
Installation view: Doublethink: Double Vision, Pera Museum, Istanbul, 2017. Photo by Uğur Ataç.
Installation view: Freundschaftsspiel, Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg, 2016. Photo by Bernhard Strauss.
