Asli Cavusoglu

191/205
sound, 7.16 min.
100 editions printed on 12'' LP

In January 1985, the General Directorate of the Turkish Radio and Television
Corporation (TRT) banned the use of 205 words on TV and radio broadcasts on the
grounds that they do not comply with the general structure and operation of the
Turkish language and that they are beneath the level of standard Turkish. The
order banned words such as “memory, remember, recollection, experimental,
motion, revolution, nature, dream, theory, possibility, history, freedom, example,
conversation, whole, life,” but it was ultimately repealed.

191/205 consists of 191 of these banned words found in TRT archives and
newspapers.

The Demolition of the Russian Monument at Ayestafanos
6 Photographs, 2011
31.5x26.5 cm (each)

After declaring war against Russia in 1914, the Ottoman government decided to demolish the Russian monument at Ayestafanos and commissioned the officer Fuat Uzkınay to film the destruction process. Many people attended the demolition process and watched the director working with his camera for long hours. Though referred to as the first Turkish film ever made, the footage has never been found. It is also uncertain if such a film really existed – some even say that the director might have forgotten to record.

All we have now of the whole process is two photographs of the monument taken before and after it was exploded. It is also uncertain whether these images are extracts from the film or they were taken by someone else.

Taking these images as its starting point, The Demolition of the Russian Monument at Ayestafanos creates a subs

191/205
7.16 min.
printed on 12'' LP.

In January 1985, the General Directorate of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) banned the use of 205 words on TV and radio broadcasts on the grounds that they do not comply with the general structure and operation of the Turkish language and that they are beneath the level of standard Turkish. The order banned words such as “memory, remember, recollection, experimental, motion, revolution, nature, dream, theory, possibility, history, freedom, example, conversation, whole, life,” but it was ultimately repealed.

191/205 consists of 191 of these banned words found in TRT archives and newspapers.

To listen the song:
http://www.myspace.com/191taksim205