A new solo exhibition from RED ART Istanbul, featuring an exciting mix of artists representing the artistic outputs of 21st-century pop culture!

LUNATIC ASYLUM

Nesren Jake, who began actively bringing his artistic designs and ideas to life in 2010 and is considered one of Turkey’s most striking pop art artists, will be showcasing his fifth solo exhibition, Lunatic Asylum, at Maximum Uniq Hall from June 1 to July 5.

In the current century, the bewildering pace of change and socio-economic dead ends have caused devastating levels of poverty, while happiness in everyday life has turned into an unstoppable frenzy of consumption with the advent of social media. The vortex created by these two predicaments pulls us all in at an infinite speed. Being aware of this situation and remaining silent and indifferent can lead to destructive consequences, while the ‘superhero’ syndrome, which is useless to mortals, is now pumped into every aspect of life, not just in cartoons.

The ideal lifestyles imposed by brands and the identity presentations that convince us all that we are superheroes cause distortions in our self-perception. Lunatic Asylum aims to critically examine and question this illusion created by visual capitalism.

For his 5th solo exhibition, Nesren Jake says, “In Lunatic Asylum, I brought heroes together with the iconic brands of capitalism to illustrate how these figures have become commodities and to make the atmosphere of madness created by capitalism entertaining.” Yiğit Aydın, one of the founders of RED ART Istanbul, who has witnessed the artist’s production since 2017, says, “I had started receiving signals of Lunatic Asylum’s arrival long ago. Observing for some time how societies elevate jesters, dictators, and swindlers in the world we live in, I was eagerly waiting to see when the artist would translate this corruption into art in his own style. When I saw all the works of Nesren Jake that will be featured in the Lunatic Asylum exhibition, I was reminded once again of how powerful a tool art is in trying to tell us something in an exhausted world.”

THE MYSTERY WILL END WITH THIS EXHIBITION

Having inevitably been influenced by the corrupt crowd he lives in, just like all of us, Nesren Jake has always said, “my works are more important than me,” and thus has never shown his face. The fact that the artist will personally meet with art lovers at the Lunatic Asylum exhibition, as he no longer has the resistance to hide anything, makes this exhibition a grand performance marking the end of 20 years of secrecy.

For these reasons, Lunatic Asylum, which is poised to be the best of the artist’s exhibitions to date, offers viewers a difficult-to-understand yet fascinating experience filled with multidisciplinary peculiarities.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in 1984, the artist began actively bringing his artistic designs and ideas to life in 2010.

Using popular culture images to help us re-examine the subconscious social messages they convey through his unique methods of criticism and satire, Nesren Jake has been producing Street Art and Pop Art works for nearly 15 years.

Gaining significant acclaim with his work first exhibited at the Beijing Biennale, Nesren Jake has held four solo exhibitions titled “Über Alles,” “Sins,” “The Boss Went Crazy,” and “Candy Shop,” and his works have been featured seven times at Contemporary Istanbul.

Participating in nearly 200 group exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad, most recently exhibiting his works at Miami Art Week 2023 and New York Art Week 2024, Nesren Jake now presents his fifth solo exhibition, “Lunatic Asylum,” at Maximum Uniq Hall.

Nesren Jake has been an artist with RED ART Istanbul since 2017.