In its latest initiative, sspatz will utilize windows in various spaces as sites for artistic interventions. Mirroring anti-collision stickers used to protect birds, these interventions will create an ecosystem of objects and shared knowledge designed to help others to navigate the complexities of migrations and the many man-made obstacles that one encounters along the way. This project will cross national borders, collaborating with artistic and domestic spaces alike in different countries to provide artists with new platforms to express their migratory experiences.
The accompanying online documentation on the sspatz website will feature these interventions alongside texts from writers and curators who have themselves experienced processes of migration. This resource aims to highlight migration as a vital part of the global art-making ecosystem, offering a space to share experiences beyond the bureaucratic challenges of becoming a part of a different society. The project will explore various reasons for migration among cultural producers and its impact on language, environment, architecture, daily life, hopes, dreams, relationships, and family. A presentation of linocuts by artist Burak Erkil at the Other Places art fair in San Pedro in 2024 was the inaugural event in a series of exhibitions that will explore how migration shapes artistic practice.
About the artist
Burak Erkil, a queer artist based in Berlin, brings a unique fusion of AI-generated portraits and traditional lino printing to this presentation.His works, characterized by bold patterns and rough edges, evoke the spirit ofGerman Expressionism with their raw emotional depth and strong, flat shapes.Expressionism's focus on subjective emotions and inner experiences feels particularly apt as a reference point for Erkil's practice.
Erkil, born in Istanbul and migrated to Germany as a student, embodies this theme bothin his biography and work, presenting personas that resonate with the process of navigating a new identity while balancing the memories of home and the challenges of belonging in a new place. His use of AI as part of his creative process further underlines this exploration of identity, emphasizing the tension between past and present, tradition and innovation, as well as self-invention. The characters in his prints—striking, unfamiliar, and yet deeply human—reflect the emotional landscape of migration, where one often must reinvent and rediscover oneself in an unfamiliar environment.
If you like the idea of transforming windows into spaces for artistic expression, we’d love to hear from you! sspatz is actively looking for collaborators—whether you have a window, a space, or simply an interest in engaging with this unique project. Our upcoming series of interventions uses windows as platforms to explore migration, art, and community-building across borders. If you're interested in being part of this global dialogue, reach out to us. Together, we can create a shared space for stories, objects, and ideas to take flight—just like the sparrow that inspired us.
