Ferhat Özgür

Wolf, 2017, wooden ballot box fragments, 483 x 248 x 145 cm

Constructed from dismantled wooden ballot boxes that have been withdrawn from use, this monumental work can be regarded as a deconstruction of a sociopolitical structure. Here, the artist transforms the figure of the wolf—encountered as a foundational element in the mythologies of many cultures—into a symbol of contemporary sociopolitical problems. With its makeshift, ragged texture enveloping its entire body, the wolf points to the immense space certain symbols can occupy within a culture, while also confronting us with shifting associations between symbols.

Taking a critical approach, the work reveals how the doctrines we look to as paths of salvation amid today’s sociopolitical turmoil remain powerless in the face of existing realities. It presents a broad portrait of the ideological climate produced by political elections: the rise of nationalism in Europe. By placing the figure of the Wolf in relation to the Tower of Democracy, of which it is an inseparable part, the artist reinterprets structures composed of dogmatic teachings as manifestations of individual and social paradigms.