Özgül Kahraman approaches the relationship between the body and the world from a phenomenological perspective. While contemporary life under the domination of visual culture presents a reality woven with technological images and optical systems, it renders non-visual senses passive. This ocular-centric approach reduces not only aesthetic perception but also bodily experience to a singular plane, limiting the body’s multi-sensory capacity.
The artist’s practice seeks to move beyond retinal perception, creating a field of sensation that awakens alternative senses such as touch, smell, and hearing. This approach emphasizes that although vision has evolved as a dominant sense, it is prone to error due to its tendency to standardize the world. Touch, hearing, and smell function as holistic sensory channels that define the body’s boundaries and enable its relationship with space and memory.
Drawing inspiration from audiences with diverse sensory experiences, Kahraman develops an aesthetic language that advocates for the equality of the senses. This language opens space for non-visual senses; the memory-triggering power of scent, the intimacy of touch, and the guiding influence of sound invite the viewer not just to look but to feel bodily.
In her work, the body occupies both passive and active roles, engaging with its surroundings as both subject and perceiver. This dual positioning demonstrates that the senses possess not only perceptive but also transformative potential. Despite all life systems being designed with vision as a reference, the artist critically targets optical perception and proposes a sensory resistance against this power structure.
Among the exhibitions and projects Özgül Kahraman has participated in over the past five years are: Yeni Bir Yol solo exhibition, Antalya (2025); Beyond Seeing: Art Encounters, CultureCIVIC-supported project, Batman (2024); Niyetler 2, Akbank Sanat, Istanbul (2024); The Light of Day, The Wall Art Gallery, Curator: Fırat Arapoğlu, Istanbul (2023); Touching Colors interactive performance, Perre Art Workshop, Adıyaman (2022); 6th Kaleiçi Old Town Festival, Together & In the Trace of Time, Open-Air Art Space, Curator: Ebru Nalan Sülün, Antalya (2021); Eating the Future, Bat Art Lab, Kültür İçin Alan, Merkezkaç, HangArt, ASA, Diyarbakır (2021); Istanbul Biennial Working and Research Program (IKSV), Istanbul (2021); Daire Sanat Open Studio artist residency, Istanbul (2021); Senkron: Simultaneous Video Exhibitions, Daire Sanat, Istanbul (2021); Gate 27 artist residency program, Istanbul (2020).
