Ali Cabbar
Embroidered Democracy, 2016, pastel on paper, 60 x 85 cm each

Tipsiz, in which I examined what democracy in Turkey is and is not from a graphic perspective, turned into a research-based political exhibition as it coincided with the immediate aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt. By examining and redrawing the emblems and election posters of the hundreds of political parties that have been founded and dissolved over the past fifty years, I tried to understand why democracy has never quite been able to settle into place. During the research process, it was surprising to witness how few sources were available. These six posters are part of the thirty-three-poster installation titled Kaneviçe Democracy, which filled two walls of the exhibition venue DEPO. The work that gave the series its title was the CHP poster “YOK,” in which the words “kaneviçe” and “democracy” happened to appear side by side. I produced all of the posters using a different technique, working with stencils and soft pastel.