SERBET

 

 

"Serbet", 1997. "Kismet" 2010 TANAS, Berlin, Germany curated by Kristine Nippe/ "Fertile Crescent: Gender, Art, Society", 2012 Mason Gross Galleries, New Jersey, USA curated by Judie Brodsky and Ferris Olin. Courtesy: Ebru Özsecen. Photography: Uwe Walter.

The film shows a stack of Burma Baklava saturated with syrup like a cascading skyscraper. Serbet, "sugared water" in Turkish, is repeatedly re-poured to keep the dessert wet. Each application comes from what remains at the bottom of the tray after each re-pouring . . . in effect a Love Elixir made over and over again. Desire, companionship, falling in love . . . these are all romantic experiences humanizing the dessert, as if it were a living being. Serbet is a precious portrait of surrender, an example of what a balanced relationship should be. The film runs from the reels on the floor, passes inside of the projector, goes up to the reels on the ceiling, and falls... like the syrup...taken from the ground again and poured from top to bottom in an endless repetition, a metaphor for the process of re-pouring the syrup, signifying Eternal Love.*

*By Ebru Özsecen published in "The Fertile Crescent", edited by Judith K. Brodsky and Ferris Olin Rutgers University Press, p. 140-143, New Brunswick, NJ: catalogue, 2012.

"Serbet", 1997. 16 mm film, custom made rolls, custom cut acrylic glass, 16 mm projector.