ISTANBUL BIENNIAL 2013 GUIDE
"Edi Hirose's hometown Lima. Peru, is also the site and subject of much of his work. Hirose studied photography at the Antonio Gaudi Institute, Lima, and has adopted the language of documentary photography, rooting his artistic approach in his immediate social experience. Exploiting the medium's historical claim of veracity and objectivity, Hirose portrays what lies in front of the lens in a way that both exposes realities but disallows any easy interpretation of them. The artist's compositions and titles endow his depictions with an almost sculptural element, blurring the line between where his artistic interventions begin and end.
The 13- Istanbul Biennial features a selection from Expansion [Expansión] (2009-ongoing), which coalesces two of Hirose's ongoing projects, New Hope [Nueva Esperanza] (2011-ongoing) and Construction II [Construcción II] (2009-ongoing).
Considered by some to be the second largest graveyard in the world, the Lady of Lourdes Cemetery (known to locals as New Hope) in Lima spans 60 hectares and contains 120,000 plots. Of this extensive site of 'collective contemplation'. Hirose offers a refracted view, showing also the rapidly changing demographics of the city around it. Remnants, reliquaries, and rituals are brought together at the edges of Peru's capital, where migrants and locals seek solace—and perhaps also solidarity.
In his seminal writing on urban development and critical regionalism, architectural critic Kenneth Frampton spoke about the tension between universal and particular architectural practices. The drive to expand and modernise living spaces is recorded by Hirose in a number of contexts within Peru. And, like Frampton's discourse, Hirose's Construction II questions the sustainability of such development within immediate economic and spatial limitations. The static facade views of his photographs reveal a social architecture of both micro and macro proportions. — Clare Butcher".
"Edi Hirose'nin dokup buyildiigii Lima, ayni zamanda yapitlarinin bircogunun konusu ye yer aldigi mekan. Hirose Lima'da Antonio Gaudi Enstituande fotografcilik ogrenimi gordii ve sanatsal yakla§imini kendi toplumsal deneyimi iizerinde temellendirerek belgesel fotografciligin dilini kullantyor. Hirose, fotografciltkin dogruculuk ve nesnellikle ilgili tarihsel iddiasindan istifade ederek hem gerceklikleri ortaya seren, hem de kolayci bir yoruma gecit vermeyen bir iislupla merceginin oniinde yer alanlartn portresini ciziyor. Hirose'nin kompozis-yon ve ba§liklari, sanatcinin yapitlarini sanatsal miidahalesinin ba§ladigi ye bittigi noktayi bulanikla§tiracak §ekilde, neredeyse heykelsi denebilecek bir nitelikle donatiyor.
13. Istanbul Bienali'nde Genigeme [Expansion] (2009—devam ediyor) ba§ligi altinda sanatcinin devam eden iiretim siirecini yansitan bir secki yer aliyor. Geni$lemetle Hirose'nin sfirdiirdfigii iki proje kayna§tiriliyor: Yeni Umut [Nueva Esperanza] (2011—devam ediyor) ye boat II [Construccion II] (2009—devam ediyor).
Diinyanin ikinci en buyiik mezarligi old* soylenen Lima'daki Lady of Lourdes (Limalilarin deyi§iyle Yeni Umut) Mezarligi 60 hektarlik bir alana yayiliyor ve 120 bin mezar iceriyor. Hirose bu geni§ "kolektif dii§iinme" mekaninda, mezarligin etrafindaki §ehrin niifus yapismin hull degi§imini de izleyiciye gostererek algida kirilma yaratan bir manzara sunuyor. ceperle-rinde gOgmenlerin ve mahallelilerin bir teselli —ve belki bir dayani§ma umudu—aradlgi Peru'nun ba§kenti, gidenlerden geriye kalanlan, kutsal emanetleri ve ayinleri bir araya getiriyor.
Kentsel geliim ye ele§tirel bolgeselcilik iizerine yazdiki okir acici makalelerde mimarlik ele§tirmeni Kenneth Frampton, genel ve ozel mimarlik pratikleri arasindaki gerilimden bahsetmi§ti. Ya§am alanlarini geni§letme ye modernlqtirme dartfisii Hirose tarafindan Peru'da farkli baglamlarda kayit altina aliniyor. Ve Frampton'in soylemi gibi Hirose'nin !twat 11 ba§likli serisi de bu tar bir geli§imin mevcut ekonomik ye mekansal sinirlamalar dahilinde siirdiiriilebilirligini sorguluyor. Hirose'nin fotograflarinin duragan cephe manzaralart hem mikro hem makro olcekte toplumsal bir mima-riyi ortaya seriyor. — Clare Butcher".