REALITY-CHECK curated by Basak Senova (TR) Bengisu Bayrak, Carlo Crovato, Yane Calovski & FOS, Erhan Muratoglu, Basak Kaptan & Erik Stein, and Bengu Karaduman. We all live in our own realities. Realities are diverse. The perceptions of “the reality” are diverse as well. The way we perceive the physicality is the complex output of our sensory system, our intellect and cultural formation, thus, is highly subjective. Every one of us is a processor in a sense, who is thriving hard to process the dense amount of information flow and construct the 'real', and make a coherent construction of the world we comprehend. However, there is the grand illusion of what is known as objective reality of the information. We often do not see the fact that the optimization process of constructing the information never relies on the personal apprehension of the specific events and phenomena. There are considerable gaps among the perceptions of the reality about the devastating acts happening in the globe. What is the actual perception of the people who experience first hand? What are the local and global effects and consequences of the acts about? How about the contradictory reports that emanate from the information channels and alternative sources? At the end what we have are the misperceptions that have taken their effects on diverse realities. Originated from these critical approach above, Reality-Check selection combines the works of artists reflecting on the contradictory realm of reality. Statements of the artist which are delivered through each work, invites the viewer to contemplate on personal, social, political, psychological, televised, and mediated realities, perceived and interpreted in diverse layers. Artist(s): Bengisu Bayrak Title: Fast Iman Country of production: Turkey Year of Production: 2003 "Fast-Iman" questions the relevance of religious messages for contemporary life. In another level, it also documents the consequences of neo-liberal economy to our way of living. The video documents a marketing strategy that a mosque in Istanbul develops by running lines from the Quaran on a digital display screen above the entry of a mosque. Artist(s): Carlo Crovato Title: Pop the Grape Country of production: UK Year of Production: 2005 'Pop the Grape' was recorded from a BBC radio 4 interview Jimmy Massey describes his experiances as a marine sergeant in the US marines in Baghdad and presented as rolling text with stereo audio, interviewer left channel, interviewee right channel. Artist(s): Yane Calovski & FOS Title: An Early Lost Play Country of production: Denmark Year of Production: 2006 The video follows and documents a young Danish girl's reactions and questionings of the situation and her position in Denmark during the spread of protests against the cartoons of the prophet Mohamed in eight poetic episodes. Artist(s): Erhan Muratoglu Title: I/O Information Overbloated Country of production: Turkey Year of Production: 2005 “I/O Information Overbloated” exposes the bottleneck condition in which new digital data try to flow through the television screen. The struggle between the narrated news and visual data feed creates bizarre conditions and undefined zones for the viewer/data receiver. The conventional TV screen is encapsulated by the new data forcing to find a way to flow. Artist(s): Basak Kaptan and Erik Stein Title: Teleplane Project Country of production: Germany Year of Production: 2004 Text: As a parody of the dubbing process of the Hollywood films in Germany, the video detects people in conversation in a park and overlaps inaudable realities with fictive conversations. Artist(s): Bengu Karaduman Title: In den Grund Blinken (Deep Inside) Country of production: Turkey Year of Production: 2006 At the wedding ceremonies as a Turkish tradition, the red ribbon tied to the brides belly represents virginity. The red ribbon is used as a metaphor, which is transformed without losing its meaning. "Getting into the bondage and releasing from it" becomes an action that represents the main idea of the video.