Conversation with İnci Eviner, Istanbul, 2005

In this conversation, İnci Eviner reflects on her artistic practice and the social and political dynamics surrounding gender in Turkey. She describes her immersive artworks as spaces that confront collective memory and provoke reflection on societal norms—often highlighting taboos within Turkish and broader European contexts: “I saw some very uncanny, very disturbing things.”

Eviner’s inquiry into feminism is rooted in a distinctly Turkish experience of modernity, which she argues diverges significantly from Western feminist narratives. Turkish society, she explains, lacks historical female heroines and intergenerational feminist legacies: “I have nothing to give the next generation!” This absence has led to an ongoing struggle for women—including herself—to define their identities in both private and public spheres. For Eviner, feminism in Turkey requires new, localized definitions that encompass the diverse realities of women and avoid simplistic binaries.

A recurring subject in her work is the female body as an image devoid of agency. Eviner recalls her childhood perception of her body as empty—an object without a name or a narrative of its own. This sense of alienation became a central concern in her artistic practice, prompting her to reimagine the body through drawing and performance—not merely as an artistic act, but as an expressive force: an act of survival and a reclamation of identity.

In her drawings and animations, Eviner frequently constructs narratives of women in various stages of emotional and social struggle, blending humor, pain, and surreal imagery drawn from collective memory, news stories, and generational trauma. Her images are often populated by uncanny elements: a boy trapped in a nest trying to scream without sound; a woman unable to breastfeed, yet holding words in her mouth. She seeks deeper engagement, wanting viewers to understand the emotional and political layers of her work—not just its formal beauty: “I need people to pay attention to my stories.” These images speak to the contradictions in society, where women’s bodies are simultaneously controlled and consumed, seen and silenced.
Eviner also critiques the Turkish art world’s historical reluctance to engage with feminist discourse. She observes a hesitancy—especially among the younger generation—to identify as feminist or confront discriminatory politics. She asserts that personal experience is inherently political, and that resistance to feminism reflects a deeper societal denial.