Seen Unseen: An Anthology of (Auto)Censorship

Firat Yucel, Erhan Örs, Sibil Çekmen, Serra Akcan, Nadir Sönmez, Hakan Bozyurt, Can Memiş & belit sağ / Netherlands & Türkiye / 2024 / 66 min

Censorship and the suppression of critical voices is on the rise. Also in Turkey, where a group of artists and filmmakers gather to reflect on the possible limits of what you can actually say – and not least how you say it. The result is a video work in six very different episodes, covering expressions such as prison graffiti, desktop collages, surveillance cameras and the art of cruising with honesty and a dash of humor. Explicit censorship is one thing, self-censorship is another, and a third is how to critically and creatively use it as an artistic method. Censorship may be on the rise in Turkey, but so is the contemporary art scene.