Hussein Chalayan, 1970

Born in Nicosia, Cyprus Hussein Chalayan’s family left Cyprus and settled in England in 1982. He graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London in 1993.

Hussein Chalayan is a world-renowned innovative figure in the fields of contemporary art and design with several “Designer of the Year” awards in the UK, where he lives and works. Chalayan, who has “made clothing into a living philosophy,” reflects his ideas and concepts in his fashion design as well as his artworks and exhibitions. He conceives his fashion shows as performances and art exhibitions and designs costumes for dance performances and operas. He also produces short films, sculptures, videos, and sound installations.

Lying somewhere between fashion design and contemporary art, Chalayan’s practice defies categorization. Applying new technologies or using materials in innovative ways, he chooses subjects from science, genetics, philosophy, architecture, and cultural history. He deals with topical political issues and focuses on concepts such as journey, displacement, and migration, which are also part of his personal history. He creates narratives that play with the meanings of culture and identity and the way they are interpreted.

“Imminence of Desire” is an installation with sound titled It is a reminder of Istanbul’s history and of the communities, languages, and cultures that used to exist in this city. The work looks like an old-fashioned signboard common in train stations and airports. In general, these signboards indicate destinations and departure and arrival times by generating mechanical sounds as the display updates at regular intervals. However, there is something strange about the names appearing on Chalayan’s signboard: Though it seems like new and entirely different names appear each time, an attentive viewer will notice that they are names given to Istanbul at different eras in history. In the installation we also hear seagulls, which are perhaps the only denizens of Istanbul that have not changed over the centuries. At the same time this is a typical sound identified with the city; it is a cry, which has become the sound of Istanbul.