ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Artist Şükran Moral is known for her provocative works.
Turkish contemporary artist Şükran Moral, who is known for her extraordinary and provocative works, made love with a female partner during her latest performance “Amemus” (Lovemaking) on Thursday at the Casa Dell Arte Gallery in Istanbul.
Guests at the event, who had no idea what they were about to see, were shocked when a young woman, wearing only a g-string and bra, went onto a bed on the stage and started to have sex with the artist Moral, who was wearing the same.
“Excuse me, but they had real sex in front of people; I mean it was not a fiction or anything,” said one of the viewers. Most of the audience left the venue in the first 10 minutes. “I was really embarrassed. Everyone was in shock,” said another guest. After 20 minutes, as viewers were leaving the venue, Moral was still having sex with her partner.
Speaking about the event, Moral said her performance did not have a singular purpose. “Generally speaking, the purpose was to bring a new expression to the language of performance art and of course to break taboos. My goal was to annoy the viewers of the performance. I don’t want to make a performance that does not annoy people and make them excited and confused.”
She said: “I have always had a problem with taboos in all my performances. Sexuality is one of the fields banned by governments. Making love in this performance is an artistic event. It is not a ‘sexual show’ but discussing a moral problem.”
Because of the reactions and for security reasons, Moral has canceled her exhibition of the same name, which was to feature photos of the performance and was scheduled to open Dec. 9.