Poised in the infinite ocean (2011)

Istanbul Modern presents a new exhibition addressing the relationship between art, nature and technology: Paradise Lost (25 March to 24 July 2011). The exhibition consists of digital media and video works. Included in the show are 21 artists and a joint project who take into consideration subjects related to nature and examine the impact of industry and technology on the environment. Ergin Çavuşoğlu mostly produces video and sound installations set in urban spaces where the private and the public intersect. These areas, which he defines as 'liminal spaces' function as boundaries between people and their surroundings. Çavuşoğlu’s contribution to 'Paradise Lost' is the video installation, Poised in the Infinite Ocean that is accompanied by a reading by William Langewiesche from his book, The Outlaw Sea (2004), about the anarchy at sea and merchant shipping. This particular section about a storm at sea takes place where the video was shot: in the Bay of Biscay, between France and Spain. The characters in the story are sailors who, having no alternative, spend their lives at sea and lead a routine life of work and rest in the 'iron house' where they live. Poised in the Infinite Ocean shows a castle on the shore, sky and sea, and a lighthouse and town, shot during a storm. The narration complements the images without being descriptive. The sailors pursue their destiny under the influence of natural forces they cannot control, while their only lodestar and salvation is the light that flashes in the dark. The eerie, melancholic, seductive images presented in triptych, portray instincts such as the search for shelter, control, and orientation, through the powerful use of imagery.