Invitation to Defense of Rojda Tuğrul

The Examination Panel is made up of: Ao.Univ.-Prof. Doz. Mag. Dr. Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein (chair), Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Anette Baldauf and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Renate Lorenz (1st supervisors), Prof. Dr. Shahrzad Mojab (2nd supervisor, University of Toronto), and Prof. Dr. Bilgin Ayata (external appraiser, University of Graz).

Abstract

The art-based research project ‘An Artistic Approach to the Transformation of a War Zone Within the Kurdish Territories’ focuses on the effects of decades-long war on ecological and cultural heritage, within the socio-political framework of Kurdistan. The work is rooted in the ongoing conflict between the Turkish State and the PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party), analysing its consequential influence on ecological habitats. The research project engages with the Earth phenomena such as rivers, villages, mountains and liminal spaces in upper Mesopotamia that were particularly affected by the war’s eco-political effects.

Whilst examining the transformation and deterioration of land and the dispossession of habitat as a trace of change in the culture and collective psyche of society, the research project also explores the politics of art, the autonomy of artistic representations, and the power of images. It elaborates on and highlights the concepts of ‘Re-Animating’, the ‘Power of the Ordinary’ and ‘Touching’ to realise and produce a peculiar connection between land and individual in the context of a long-term conflict.

An interdisciplinary approach informed by contemporary theory, critical theory and broader culture has played a fundamental role in developing this artistic practice. This approach also aids in contextualising and representing the theoretical framework of the research and the theorisation process of experimental and innovative integration of artistic expression and media. The visual material is gathered utilising extensive field/on-site research and is comprised of video animations, and photography, complemented by audiovisual material.

Short biography

Rojda Tuğrul is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose practice concerns the notion of identity in relation to space and time. Her Ph.D. research project seeks to analyse the effects of war on ecological and cultural heritage within the socio-political framework of Kurdish territories. Her work is rooted in the ongoing conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party), analysing its substantial influence on ecological habitats. While examining the transformation and deterioration of habitat as a trace of change in society's culture and collective psyche, her work also explores the politics of art, the autonomy of artistic representations, and the power of images. Rojda holds an MSc in Veterinary Studies, and she graduated from Mardin Artuklu University with an MFA.