Performance Installation 2024

Nezaket Ekici installs a space like a concert stage. Around her, music stands, and a piano chair are arranged. She takes out 3 large catalogues filled with the names of the 1303 artists, and stands in a costume inspired by the Opera Singer Maria Callas. In her long-duration performance "O D E 1303," Nezaket Ekici transforms the act of reading into a ritual of commemoration. Marking the 20th anniversary of Kunstverein Tiergarten, Ekici returns to the institution's rich artistic history and shines a light on the 1,303 artists and collectives who have contributed to its legacy—including herself. Ekici seeks to express the span of these 20 years both linguistically and visually. One of the large display windows of the Kunstverein Tiergarten is transformed by Ekici into a stage and performance space. She begins to read the names aloud, one by one. However, she takes her time with each: she spells out every name letter by letter using the reformed German phonetic alphabet, “Buchstabentafel,” also known as ‘DIN 5009’, which uses many city names, for example: N like Nürnberg; E like Essen; Z like Zwickau; A like Aachen. Over the course of eight hours, she performs a ritualistic and durational act: reading aloud each name, letter by letter, using the phonetic alphabet. This purposeful spelling turns each artist’s name into a spoken sculpture—rhythmic, reverent, and precise. At times almost ‘rapping’ and other times methodically speaking, Ekici constructs her own rhythm to give to these names, transforming the window into a space of remembrance, visibility, and celebration. Through this performative litany, Ekici relives the memory of two decades of artistic creation, making audible what is usually archived and invisible. Each name, once part of a past exhibition or performance, is reactivated in the present moment. The piece functions as both a personal and institutional homage: a sustained, vocal gesture of gratitude and remembrance. By broadcasting the performance onto the street via loudspeakers, Ekici opens this act of memory to the public. Passersby might recognize an artist, a friend, a collaborator, or even themselves, re-inscribed into the living memory of the space. In doing so, "O D E 1303" not only celebrates the Kunstverein’s history—it animates it, giving each artist a moment of renewed presence and collective acknowledgment. (Text: Jono Wang Chu)

Piano Chair, Music Trypodes, 3 Catalogues, Water , Honey, glas bowl Spotlight, Lights, Costume, volumes containing 1,303 artist names

8 Hours

Nezaket Ekici ODE 1303 Performance Installation 2024 Presented in the frame: Groupexhibition RE:VISION, 20 Years Kunstverein Tiergarten, Berlin 13.9.-26.10.2024 Live Performance ODE 1303 on 18.10.2024 from 11 am to 7 pm Curated by Veronika Witte, Julia Heunemann and Ulrike Riebel Camera: Tanja Brzakovic Editing: Jelena Bosanac Costume Desing: Nezaket Ekici Dress Cutter: Süleymann Graphic: Bernhard Rose Thanks to: Veronika Witte, Julia Heunemann, Ulrike Riebel, Bernhard Rose, J