Nilbar Güreş

Versatile (Bert and Ernie), 2016, mixed media on fabric, 84,56 x 152 cm

Referring to the cliché of gay relationship dynamics as imagined “from the outside,” this work takes as its point of departure Edi and Büdü—the Turkish names given to Bert and Ernie, familiar characters from *Sesame Street*. By also addressing the roots of our understanding of social ethics through childhood and education, the work questions the much-discussed “active-passive” cliché and prompts reflection on prescribed roles. Edi and Büdü live in the same house and repeatedly tell one another that they love each other. Some of the fabrics used in the work were collected in Türkiye, while others were gathered during my travels to different countries. A number of them were also given to me by women who are familiar with and supportive of my artistic practice. The materials vary in age as well; some of the fabrics used in this work date back to the 1970s.