Truancy

Selim Birsel builds his artistic practice on personal observations, coincidental encounters, historical events and social reactions which complement one another, encourage reinterpretation or focus on multiple layers. Much of his work comes to life in the exhibition space, where it often engages with the visitor directly within the framework of a game. "Truancy" is a single school desk covered with corroded brown formica, composed of a chair and a table attached to one another via a set of iron legs. Imposing a fixed sitting position which restricts movement, this school desk highlights how the body is disciplined by the education system and invites the visitor to lend an ear to nature, laziness, and disobedience through the sound of crickets emanating from its drawer.