Who is Şükran Moral?
Şükran Moral who has been trying to break the Meta of women since the 80s continues to actively work today. The artist rebelling against the cliché judgments of society was born in 1962 at Terme. She had her BA degree at A. U. Faculty of Education, Department of Fine Arts Teaching, and afterward, she completed her education at the Academy of Fine Arts at Rome.
Paddling Against the Current
Using her body as her canvas to convey her ideas, Moral first and foremost deals with the women’s enmity against themselves, and then their place in society. Her works are ahead of her time. Are women aware of the misogyny they are subjected to? Is equality between genders a never-ending war or did we progress in any way? Why are women still being treated as second-class people in our day? The artist struggled with these questions throughout her life.
She performed her artwork named “Bordello” in front of a brothel in Istanbul in 1997. Moral made this performance for the 5th Istanbul Biennial. She stuck a paper on the door of the brothel which read “Contemporary Art Museum” and showcased herself along with the workers of the brothel on the display window holding a sign with “for sale” written on it. Her aim was to show the value of art and the artist. She explains her art that breaks the metas as “Getting into the brothel in Istanbul was to tear through a taboo as well. I call this ‘razoring the guts of a taboo’”.
Her performance titled “Married, with Three Men” that took place at Mardin in 2010 made people ponder on the place of marriage and women in society. It criticizes the right to have more than one wife in Eastern societies. Referring also to the underage marriages of little girls, the artist always stood against injustice.
Şükran Moral is the voice against not only the pressures held against women, but also of the trans and transvestite individuals, homosexuals, and the freedoms of individuals that are and will continue to be a part of society.
Author: Başak U. Hürer
