TANJA OSTOJIĆ

PROTEST SCARVES AGAINST TURKEY’S RETREAT FROM THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION (2021)

performance / video / video-installation

We walked backwards through the crowds of İstiklal Street (the main pedestrian street in Istanbul) waving colorful scarves, floral patterned tablecloths, and our shirts, all of which contrasted with the solid red national flags that covered the sky all along the street, and dominated the city center. Our collective action attracted the attention of passers-by and the police, who filmed us and stopped us several times, especially in front of the headquarters of a foundation that supports Turkish female lawyers, where a banner in protest of Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in March of 2021 was displayed. In this performance action, we used colorful scarves and demonstrated for women’s rights. (Tanja Ostojić, Mis(s)placed Women? blog, 2022).

Protest Scarves Against Turkey’s Retreat from the Istanbul Convention (2021). İstiklal Street, Istanbul, September 9, 2021. A Mis(s)placed Women? collective performance and public action with the participation of: Arzu Yayıntaş, Bahar Seki, Gülhatun Yıldırım, Gizem Yılmaz, Nazlı Durak, Persefoni Myrtsou, Vanessa Ponte, Sabbi Senior, Selma Hekim and Tanja Ostojić. Photo: K. Kaygusuz. Copyright: T. Ostojić
Protest Scarves Against Turkey’s Retreat from the Istanbul Convention (2021). A Mis(s)placed Women? collective performance and public action, video 5 min, 57 sec. With the participation of: Arzu Yayıntaş, Bahar Seki, Gülhatun Yıldırım, Gizem Yılmaz, Nazlı Durak, Persefoni Myrtsou, Vanessa Ponte, Sabbi Senior, Selma Hekim and Tanja Ostojić.

A Mis(s)placed Women? production with the generous support of Cultural Academy Tarabya and Performistanbul.

Exhibited at the Scarf as a Cultural Signifier, The WomeN’S Museum and the Museum of Vojvodina, Novi Sad (2022).

Protest Scarves Against Turkey’s Retreat from the Istanbul Convention (2021) video installation, exhibition view, Tanja Ostojić: MIS(S)PLACED WOMEN? 2009–2022, A Collaborative Art Project, Depo Istanbul, 2022. Photo: K. Kaygusuz. Copyright: T. Ostojić.