girl from pisi

Perhaps eight years or so ago I was sitting at a café with my friend Esra in the East Village, Manhattan. I was in midst of shaking my arms, drawing 3D abstractions in the air as my voice fluctuated between tonalities and my cheeks got red. My brother, visiting North America for the first time, arrived. "Here you are in Manhattan and you're still squeaking about your village, your village!"

My village is indeed all I talk about, from my first super 8 film The Other Mother to my installation Elsewheres a decade later.  Pisi, Muğla is the origin of the world. Ombelico del Mondo. It is where I will get married between my maternal and paternal grandparents' adjoining land. It's the place of fantasy, daydreams, pseudo nostalgia (for I have never lived there actually) and actual losses.

I was delighted to escape in late November to the village. My uncle took me on the back of his motorbike to our orchard. We visited the olive oil factory. I visited relatives with new ailments…everyone fed me, at all times of the day. The idyllic paradise comes at the cost of having to hear my great aunt Perihan ask me the following question: "Have you agreed with a man?" I hereby declare I shall make it my utmost priority to agree with a man and conduct the aforementioned wedding in 2015 cause, it would break my heart not to see her radiant face on the front seat as I dance zeybek.














Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 2, 2014 at 9:09 AM

    Nice... Congrats on getting married. Who's the lucky guy? The olive oil factory owner?

    Regards,

    nenad

    ReplyDelete

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