Cem Kara "GAME Again" Online Solo Exhibition, December 4-19, 2025

As part of its solo exhibition activities, the Marmara University Traditional Handicrafts and Design Application and Research Center (GESTUAM) is presenting the online exhibition "GAME Again" by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cem Kara of the Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts to art lovers.

The Game Again...

The "quest for self" or "identity consciousness" describes the concept of the ego, and so the concept of the ego describes both boundaries and limitlessness. Within this dichotomy, the ego can be said to encompass, on the one hand, the "unconditional service of all things" and, on the other, the "ability to restrain oneself in emotions." Accordingly, the allure of being centered must inevitably generate manipulation and, at the same time, irrelevant reflection on the strength of the stance. However, the persistence of intolerance to dissenting opinions will reveal the extent to which psychological wounds will arise.

According to myth, Narcissus, legendary for his beauty, was obsessed with falling in love with his reflection in the water, leading to both his death and rebirth. Narcissus's punishment, his exhaustion, his birth as a delicate narcissus flower with his head bowed at the water's edge, now represents the collapse, fragility, and pain produced by his growing insensitivity to the outside world. While the narcissus is a narrative of pain and wound, it also perhaps embodies a moment of acceptance, the beginning of a transformation. This narrative, on the one hand, reveals an introverted, lonely, insecure yet revealing identity, the relationship between reality and its replacement, while on the other, it evokes the idea of ​​"again."

The Narcissus cycle is actually like a game. The situation and rupture finally grasped in the quest for selfhood will lead one to a new beginning—a "game," to put it simply, where one will define the rules, make moves, and hopefully reach certain levels. Because the game is like a testing ground where previous mistakes are tested. Starting the game over is simply offering oneself an opportunity. What is sought is the level of genuine confrontation that can be experienced with each repetition, the awareness of the wounds left behind at each stage, the understanding, or lack thereof, between the artificial anxiety or reluctance specific to the individual and the serenity or resolve inherent in the natural cycle.

Cem Kara

Exhibition Poster.jpg (7.85 MB)

Exhibition Poster.pdf (2.25 MB)

Cem Kara Exhibition Catalog.pdf (5.06 MB)

Note: The works in the exhibition are animated images (GIFs). To view the animated images, please click on the relevant artwork's image.