Friendship—especially within the collective structures of artists—is often ambiguous, situational, and fluid. If a general rule is needed, it could be that this type of friendship inherently involves coping with loss. Because when we decide to be friends, we instinctively know that this relationship will eventually end, in one way or another, with the loss of one friend. This is why we often feel a natural urge to maximize the time we have, trying to fit infinity into this limited space. Furthermore, the time after the loss also becomes a prolonged part of the friendship. Just as in everyday life, we cope with loss by carrying the routines of the lost into our own lives, speaking to them, answering on their behalf, or metaphorically internalizing them, the legacy of friendship in artistic collaborations often surfaces similarly. It may even manifest while the friendship or collaboration is still ongoing, as each artist reappears, in one form or another, within the other’s work.
In this conversation between Fatma Belkıs and Sevgi Ortaç, the two artists will pose questions to each other about their practices. Drawing on their works that explore history and legacy, friendship and childhood, they will delve into the absent, the longed-for, the haunting, and those they seek to connect with.
Fatma Belkıs was born in Antalya in 1985 and now lives in Istanbul. Her practice focuses on stories of individuals undergoing transformation, often collaboratively. She works primarily with text, video, and printed materials. Belkıs examines structures built on friendship and solidarity, questioning the contracts within them and their breaches. She aims to create a network centered on concepts such as loss, mourning, negotiation, conflict, assimilation, disappointment, and failure.
Her works have been featured in events like the Istanbul Biennial and the Sharjah Biennial, as well as institutions such as SALT, Istanbul Modern, DEPO, nGbK, and Tensta Konsthall. Her films have also been screened at international film festivals in Turkey and abroad.
Sevgi Ortaç studied cinema and fine arts. She directed a short film, Tekduvarlışehir (2006), on Istanbul’s city walls and authored the book Baş Aşağı Anıt (2010). She has participated in research-art projects focusing on the right to the city and local resistance. Together with Aslı Kıyak İngin, she conducted interviews, publications, and exhibitions on craft and its relationship with urban spaces under Made in Şişhane and Neighborhoods Woven with Craft (2012-2016). She has also been involved in initiatives such as the Yedikule Bostans Preservation Initiative, the Dürtük Resilient Producer-Consumer Collective, and the Kuçe Food Collective, which advocate for urban rights and food commons.
In 2022, she published her second artist book, Hâkim Tepeler, a speculative dictionary on Mardin Castle. In 2023, she wrote and directed Küçük Buluntular, a short film focusing on archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Olympos. Since 2017, she has been teaching part-time, offering courses in documentary filmmaking and contemporary art.
