Ali Elmacı

You Can’t Doubt My Love V- XII, 2013, Ink on paper, 70 x 50 cm (each)

I produced this series in 2013 for the project space of Contemporary Istanbul. The project was titled **“You Will Find Me Not Where You Look for Me, but Where You Have Forgotten Me.”** Its point of departure was the relationship between political power and the media. While the media filters and presents situations associated with those in power, it reports criminal incidents to us at an almost pornographic level of detail. The contrast and inconsistency between these two modes of representation are striking. We find ourselves within a constructed composition resembling a prime-time news bulletin, and in my works I make use of this same structure. The hierarchy of news applies to every story in the media, from the presidency to the government. The media filters all of this information, leaving us unable to access its details. The stories that follow are generally economic news, which is presented in somewhat greater depth. By the time we reach the third category—crime, accidents, and other criminal incidents—we are made to listen to every detail of what has occurred. This coverage is disturbingly pornographic and manipulates our minds. Finally comes entertainment news, accompanied by pleasant and reassuring images. The ultimate aim is to make us forget, by the end of the broadcast, what was said at the very beginning.