:mentalKLINIK is a Brussels-based artist duo from Istanbul composed of Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir who began their collaborative practice in 1998. The duo has a reactionary, open laboratory approach to process, production, roles, conception and presentation. This vocabulary gives their work a relationship with different references and background. Their work is a mix of oxymora and paradoxes, darkly humorous, self-contained and as much concerned with the total effect of accelerated capitalism as with the invisible politics and dynamics that define our everyday lives. :mentalKLINIK's oeuvre is droll and can look very playful and fun but at the same time, it is violent, abrasive and very questioning of the world we live in. Eschewing themes of identity, history and memory, their works range from immersive time based installations to sculptures and objects that thwart categorisation.
:mentalKLINIK has participated in internationally renowned exhibitions, including Tomorrow Now at MUDAM, Luxembourg in 2007; PuFF at Art Basel 40 (2009), Art Unlimited, Switzerland; and solo museum shows such as Fresh- Cut (2013) at MAK, Vienna and Co-operation Would be Highly Appreciated (2015) at SCAD Museum Georgia, USA. Some of their solo gallery shows are That's Fucking Awesome curated by Jérôme Sans at Galerist Istanbul in 2011; Thank You For your Cooperation (2014) and Truish (2017) at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai and 83% Satisfaction Guaranteed (2015) at Louise Alexander Gallery in Porto Cevro, Italy, Catastrophically Gorgeous (2018) curated by Yasmina Reggad at Eugster || Belgrade, Serbia and Obnoxiously Happy (2018) curated by Jérôme Sans at La Patinoire Royale / Galerie Valérie Bach, Brussels.
Education
Yasemin Baydar (b. Istanbul, Turkey)
1990-2002 Mimar Sinan University, Faculty of Fine Arts. Istanbul, Turkey
Birol Demir (b. Ankara, Turkey)
1986-1990 Mimar Sinan University, Faculty of Fine Arts. Istanbul, Turkey
Solo Exhibitions
2018 Catastrophically Gorgeous. Eugster II Belgrad. Belgrade, Serbia. Curated by Yasmina Reggad.
2018 Obnoxiously Happy. La Patinoire Royale. Brussels, Belgium. Curated by Jerome Sans.
2017 Truish. Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde. Dubai, UAE.
2017 Self-Seeking Superficials. Louise Alexander Gallery. Porto Cevro, Italy.
2015 83% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Louise Alexander Gallery. Porto Cevro, Italy.
2015 Co-Operation Would Be Highly Appreciated. SCAD, Museum of Art Savannah. Savannah, Georgia, USA. Curated by Storm Janse van Rensburg
2014 Thank You For Your Cooperation. Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde. Dubai, UAE.
2013 Magmaonthemountain Performative Dinner. Istanbul Modern. İstanbul, Turkey.
2013 Freshcut, Performative Installation. MAK NITE Lab, MAK Museum of Applied Arts. Zurich, Switzerland. Curated by Marlies Wirth.
2012 Encounter. The Royal Academy In The Middle East. Katara, Doha, Qatar. Curated by Kathy Battista.
2012 Magmaonthemountain, Performative Dinner. Paris, France,.
2012 Terribly Jolly, Real-time Sculpture. Istanbul, Turkey.
2012 Happilydizzy. Paris, France.
2011 That’s Fucking Awesome. Galerist Hasköy. Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by Jerome Sans
2010 Silence_Storm. Port Izmir2, International Triennial of Contemporary Art. Izmir, Turkey. Curated by Necmi Sonmez
2009 Rabbithtole. Galerist. Istanbul, Turkey
2009 PUFF. Art Basel 40, Art Unlimited Basel. Basel, Switzerland.
2009 Tagcloud. :mentalKLINIK Space. Istanbul, Turkey
2008 Tagcloud. :mentalKLINIK Space. Istanbul, Turkey
2007 BINARYOCCUPATIONS PHASE1. SURFACE. :mentalKLINIK Space. Istanbul, Turkey.
2004 ~SELF01. MUDAM, Luxembourg (Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean). Luxembourg. Curated by Marie-Claude Beaud
2003 [COPY]. :mentalKLINIK Space. Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by :mentalKLINIK.
Group Exhibitions
2020 Here We Reach All The Dreams Of The World. Hakanto Contemporary. Antananarivo, Madagascar. A project by Joël Andrianomearisoa.
2019 Almost Home. RX Gallery. Paris France. A project by Joël Andrianomearisoa.
2019 Racing The Galaxy. Astana Art Show. Astana, Kazakhstan. Curated by Jerome Sans & Dina Baitassova.
2019 Eldorama. Tripostal. Lille, France. Curated by Jerome Sans, Jean–Max Colard and Isabelle Bernini
2019 Golden Room. Palais des Beaux-Arts. Lille, France. Curated by Jerome Sans, Jean – Max Colard and Isabelle Bernini
2019 Sunday Morning. Galerist. Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by Nicole O’Rourke
2018 The Thirtieth Year. Krizinger Projekte. Wien, Austria. Curated by Jerome Sans.
2018 Evolve. Galery A. Izmir, Turkey. Curated by Necmi Sonmez.
2017 Summer In The City. La Patinoire Royal. Brussels, Belgium.
2017 Good Printing. Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde. Dubai, UAE. Curated by Yasmina Reggad.
2016 White Cube. Gallery Isabelle Van Den Eynde. Dubai, UAE. Curated by Amanda Abi Khalil.
2015 Time And Image. Greek Film Archive Museum. Athens, Greece. Curated by Christina Androulidaki.
2014 Entre Nosotros (Between us), Video art from the Middle East and North Africa in a global World. Etopia Centro de Arte y Tecnología. Zaragoza, Spain. Curated by Sabrina Amrani.
2014 Plurivocality. Istanbul Modern. Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by Levent Çalıkoğlu & Çelenk Bafra.
2014 Rock The Casbah. Group Show with Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Design Miami. Basel, Switzerland.
2012 Istanbul Modern. Rotterdam Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum. Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2011 B-34 Kulturk. Freie University. Berlin, Germany.
2011 30 Et Presque-Songes. Maison Revue Noire. Paris, France. Curated by Joël Andreanomearisoa.
2011 Dreams Of Art Spaces Collected. IGBK. Berlin, Germany.
2010 From Istanbul They Come. Kappatos Gallery. Athens, Greece. Curated by Eleftheria Tseliou.
2009 A Survey Of Turkish Art. Cuadro Fine Art Gallery. Dubai, UAE.
2007 Converted01, X-CUBE© locker. Tokyo, Japan. Curated by Eric van Hove.
2007 Give Joel A Gift, You Will Be Gifted. 30 and Almost-Dreams Exhibition. Antanarivo, Madagascar. Curated by Joël Andreanomearisoa.
2007 FROZEN45, Tomorrow Now Exhibition. MUDAM (Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean). Luxembourg. Curated by Alexandra Midal & Bjorn Dahlström
2001-2002 {GAME}. :mentalKLINIK, Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by :mentalKLINIK
2000 (SLEEP). :mentalKLINIK Space, Istanbul, Turkey. Curated by :mentalKLINIK
Teaching/Lecturing/Residency
2019-2018 OBSCURE OBJECT, Workshop with Carl de Smet at Khalifa University, Art&Technology, Abu Dhabi
2019- 2018 DOUBLE TROUBLE, Workshop at La Cambre with Nathalie Khan, Pierre Daras, Didier Vervaeren, Brussels, Belgium
2017 Residency at Performance Hub Belgrade Serbia
2015 Panel discussion with Scott Carter, :mentalKLINIK and Nari Ward moderated by Paul Lester. SCAD Museum of Art Savannah Georgia USA
2015 Lecture Series, SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design Georgia USA.
2009 OBSCURE OBJECT, Workshop, Ecole Speciale d’Architecture, Paris, France Undisciplined State of Mind, Ecole Speciale d’Architecture, Paris, France
2009 PRESENT FUTURE, Panel discussion with Tül Akbal Süalp moderated by Fatoş Üstek at Tent, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2008 UNDISCIPLINED DESIGNING; the Theory and Practice of :mentalKLINIK, Studium Generale Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2008 WORKSHOP at DAI-Week with Barbara Visser, directed by Gabrielle Schleijpen, Dutch Art Institute, Enschede, Netherlands
2008 ÇAGDAS SANAT KONUSMALARI 2, Çagdas Sanatta Sivil Olusumlar ve Inisiyatifler, panel discussion with Tül Akbal Süalp moderated by Levent Çalıkoğlu at Yapi Kredi Cultural Center, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 NON-DETAIL, Panel at Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 NON-DETAIL – WORKSHOP with Bas van Beek at Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 BiR ÇALISMA BİÇİMİ OLARAK TASARIM, Moderated by Levent Çalıkoğlu Istanbul Modern. Istanbul, Turkey
2008 GÜNCEL SANAT TARTISMALARI: Bagımsız Bünyeler, Panel discussion with Hazavuzu, Moderated by Seçil Yersel. Project by Azra Tüzünoğlu at Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 :MENTALKLINIK STATEMENT, Dreams Of Art Spaces Collected, The International Gesellschaft Der Bildenden Künste (IGBK) in co-operation with Deutscher Künstlerbund, Berlin, Germany
2004 CHAT AT MUDAM, Camp de Base, Musée D’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean / Luxembourg
Publications / Bibliography
2018 OBNOXIOUSLY HAPPY. Interview by Jerome Sans, Published by La Patinoire Royale. ISBN 978-2-930737-19-5.
2018 The Thirtieth Year. Published by Krinzinger Projekte.
2018 Şiir Her Yerdedir, İLHAN BERK 100 Yaşında. Edited by Necmi Sönmez, Pubished by Yapı Kredi Yayınları. ISBN: 978-975-08-4372-3
2014 Plurivocality. By Levent Çalıkoğlu and Çelenk Bafra. Pubished by Istanbul Modern Art Museum, Istanbul.
2015 83% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Designed by :mentalKLINIK, Published by Louise Alexander Gallery.
2014 Plurivocality. Published by Istanbul Modern Art Museum, ISBN 10: 9756167718 / ISBN 13: 9789756167717
2012 That’s Fucking Awesome. Designed by :mentalKLINIK, Published by GALERIST, Istanbul, ISBN: 978-97592510-9-3
2007 User’s Manual, Contemporary Art In Turkey 1986-2006. Editor Halil Alt ndere, Süreyya Evren, Published by art-ist + revolver books, ISBN: 978-3-86588-392-6
2004 self 01. Editor: Birhan Keskin, Published by :mentalKLINIK, MUDAM
2004 wanting book odd notebook. Published by :mentalKLINIK, MUDAM, ISBN: 9758614029
2004 contents. Conceived by Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir, Published by :mentalKLINIK, MUDAM, ISBN: 9758614037
2002 {oyun} game. Editor Tül Akbal Süalp, Published by :mentalKLINIK. ISBN: 9758614010
2001 (uyku) sleep. Editor Birhan Keskin, Published by :mentalKLINIK, ISBN: 9758614002
1997 On Life, beauty, Translations and Other Difficulties. Istanbul International Biennial. Editor Emre Baykal, Published by Istanbul Foundation For Culture and Arts, ISBN: 975-7363-03-0
1997 Kültür ein Gender – Projekt aus stanbul. Published by Shedhalle Zürich, Die Autorinnen. ISBN: 3-907829-06-9
