Parody is a word that derives from Greek and was passed down to Latin and other Western languages. It means imitating a literary work in a funny way. The Ottoman equivalent of parody, "hezel,"on the other hand, is defined as "a poem that is written in a funny way by imitating the meter and rhyme of a famous poem." In fact, parody does not have to be the imitation of a literary work. It is possible to make the parody of visual artworks as well. The aim of parody is to reintroduce an artwork in a comical way.

When Palestinian Edward Said published his book titled "Orientalism" in 1978, he probably had no idea how big a hit his book was going to be. Although the image of East in West was previously criticized, Said's criticism came out at a time that an established criticism was needed. In the end his book became one of the most influential books of the 20th century. However, as soon as the book was published, Arab critics drew attention to the fact that Said did not attribute any activity to the Eastern people.

As if everything was brought to light by the Westerners and the Easterners who were exposed to the new innovations became accustomed to the ways of the Westerners. In fact the Easterners adopted a particular attitude against the concept of Orientalism and proposed criticism and alternatives. Cemil İrvin's paintings should be observed within this scope. As the title of the exhibition -"Stolen Images: Orientalism Parodies" - suggests, the images İrvin uses in his paintings are adopted from here and there, "stolen" so to speak. İrvin's exhibition "Stolen Images: Orientalism Parodies" is open at 44A Art Gallery until Nov. 27.

When: Until Nov. 27

Where: 44A Art Gallery