ULKAAN

cid

With a focus on disrupting conventional identity classifications, the collaboration which results in this work called ‘cid’, combines fashion and digital technology to explore the semiotics of the human body beyond binary structures. The approach to fashion of Kaan Hiçyilmaz and Ulkuhan Akgul becomes an advocacy for the manifestation of self-expression(s) against imposed meanings on individuals. By creating sculptural garments with fluid physicality’s, they bring forward unconventional bodily data as opposed to the rigid identity assignment. A performer activates these garments in a multimedia environment to produce ambiguous, unpredictable, and dirty information under the surveillance of the audience. This decoding process addresses the systemic issues around gender and sexual identities while provoking resistance for their complexities.

ULKAAN is a collaboration between Kaan Hiçyilmaz and Ulkuhan Akgul. Kaan’s work emerges from the reciprocation between the human body (self) and the built environment, in which he investigates elements of control directed to affect one’s physical and mental conditioning. His work contextualizes as critical storytelling, using tools of writing, moving image, prop making, and performance. As a multidisciplinary designer, Ulkuhan combines fashion and digital media to explore how identity, politics, and social issues intersect. His work challenges rigid systems of meaning, particularly those that impose fixed identities on bodies, based solely on their visual appearance.