Diren Demir

Was born in 1997 to a Kurdish-Turkish family in Istanbul, Diren focuses on destroying the toxic-masculine culture or creating transforming solutions in their artworks. The theme of “disclosure” can be seen frequently in Diren’s works. Bio-politics and the body – dictatorship relationship are one of the areas of conflict when Diren use the context of disclosure. They usually use the “pure existence” of their own body relating it to the public nudism. Reinterpreting ancient rituals, records of ritualistic / meditative ecstasy or eclectic witchcraft is also a part of Diren’s performance practice; Diren is closely associated with Paganism. As a sculptor who likes to work with concrete materials, Diren creates forms in which they can relate to their body, and it can be seen that Diren refers to a physical object in the center or in the context of their performances. In Diren’s artworks, remains of the performance usually stays as a sculpture. As an artist working in the public space, Diren creates new ways of encountering and new ways of communicating with the audience. So the art / action space is often the streets where Diren can easily find the participation and interaction they need. One of the main purposes of Diren is to change, reconstruct or sometimes destroy social codes. Therefore, the liberating aspect in which Diren places the audience in the new ways of encountering and interactive spaces are the major factors. Diren continually explores aesthetic ways of doing this within the framework of community and participatory art. In addition to the queer-themed work Diren uses the body context while demolishing stereotypical gender prisons; at the same time, Diren aims to de-genderize the memory of the place and the city by frequently referring to the history of LGBTIQ+ in their writing and research work.