60 beats per minute: our internal rhythm, thumping, pulsing, steadying.

The acting metronome and bass-line for the multiplicity of layers that come together to form Cevdet Erek’s first UK-based installation: Alt Üst.

The exhibition considers the way that time is measured both within and beyond a typical human lifespan. Erek unifies these facets of time – from the natural flow of day and night, the calender and the clock, to musical tempo and nightclub rhythms – They may also be completely subjective and improvised, drawing upon musical creating his own unique interpretation of space. This conflation of natural and man-made measurements of time was demonstrated with fantastic effect on the opening night of the exhibition, with a one off performance that resonated throughout the gallery walls somehow brings together the parallel systems at play throughout the exhibition.

This unification is mirrored in the architectural layout of the gallery space, and again in the show’s title. The main atrium has been divided horizontally: the lower half is filled with intense sound and blue light, referencing  the night. While the upper remains white and clear, with only the muffled beat from below. Alt: Above Üst: Below. Combining them is suggestive of a mix-up; a collision of time and space.

Alt: Ust provides the viewer with a very personal experience – its sequences and rhythms find their way into your subconscious.

I found myself reminded of a time in my life when the sound of my heartbeat in my ears would bring about a sort of vertigo…manifesting itself into dreams of an advancing of my being to the unknown. That Cevdet Erek has brought this physiological memory back to life for me, at a time when it had been all but forgotten, adds further depth to this already multi-faceted exhibition.

Alt Üst is an intense experience that well and truly deserves attention and a visit to Spike Island, Bristol from between 15 February to 13 April 2014.

Cevdet’s Website HERE

@cevedit

Spike Islands Website HERE

@_SpikeIsland