San Diego / Wichita / Mail Art / Design / Play
Clayton Staples Gallery
Wichita State University, Kansas
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(Collaborative exhibition with Irma Puskarevic)
In September 2023, Arzu Ozkal (San Diego, CA) and Irma Puskarevic (Wichita, KS) initiated a mail art exchange project inspired by the 1960s International Mail Art Movement. Their collaboration led to the San Diego/Wichita Mail Art/Design/Play Exhibition, drawing from Fluxus principles of absurdity, spontaneity, and disruption to challenge traditional artistic boundaries and foster conceptual exploration.
Poster, Performed
LA Art Book Fair 2023,
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
Curator: Sonel Breslav
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(With Tricia Treacy, Steve Bowden, Wylie Kasai, and Mark Zurolo.)
A critical and artistic study of the creation of computer algorithms to impart autonomy in a collaborative and generative process. The project builds on the work of artists embraced chance to compose their work, and the conditional design method — where active audience participation is key — and investigates the use of digital technology, artificial intelligence, and experimental print processes in creating such works of art.
Songs of a Futile Journey:
Silk Road Songbook Songmingyan, 2022
OCAT, Xian
Curator: Mengmeng Wang
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(with Millie Chen)
SRS (Silk Road Songbook) is an audio-video project that weaves songs of dissent into the land, broadcasting women’s distinct, unruly voices on an ancient Eurasian migration route. Songs about land, self-determination, and cultural identity are created in collaboration with artists living in/between Istanbul, Tehran, Tashkent, Bishkek, and Xi’an.
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Photo credits: Xi’an OCAT, Mengmeng Wang, Tong Niu, and Qi Shen
The First 100+ Days Exhibition, 2017
SPACES
Curator: Christina Vassallo
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(Home Affairs)
Black Eyed Women was inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-Winning book, 'The Refugees' by Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, who recently spoke about the fear of refugees in the West.
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The installation addresses the refugee and immigrant experience in the U.S. specifically that of women and young girls. The choice to focus on women or women identified individuals, correlates with the focus of Home Affairs on feminist issues.
Let-down Reflex Exhibition, 2016
EFA Project Space. New York, NY.
Curated by Amber Berson and Juliana Driever
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(Home Affairs)
... and Everything Else addresses, among other ideas, access and representation of the invisible artist-caregiver. The installation includes ‘Award Letters’ Home Affairs has presented to art institutions who have made significant strides to support artists-caregivers. The photography-print project documents cultural producers who are also caregivers. Their powerful images belie the stereotype of the childless, bohemian, artist.
A Method for Reaching Extreme Altitudes Exhibition, 2018
San Diego Central Library
Curator: Kara West
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Microbial Evolution: Rules That Create the Game was initially created for the BioType #adaptations publication with the 2015-16 #designInquiry fellows. It is a fun design game Ozkal created for two or more designers, inspired by bacterial behavior.
Mural, 2017
San Diego Art Institute
Curator: Ginger Shulick Porcella
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San Diego Women in Resistance
A visual statement against authority, patriarchy, and other social mechanisms that govern our rights and resources.
Extra-Ordinary Collusion Exhibition, 2016
San Diego Art Institute
Curator: Chi Essary
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We Too Are Dining and Mating
Fruit flies (Drosophila) are commonly used as model organisms in biological research due to their short life cycle, ease of maintenance in the laboratory, and well-understood genetics. They have contributed immensely to our understanding of genetics, development, and other biological processes. Like humans, fruit flies need water to support vital physiological processes.