Project Room #7 – Frenk Bey, Fortress and the Thing

Hasan Aksaygın’s exhibition, Frenk Bey, Fortress and the Thing, deals with the history of colonial Cyprus via a fictional narrative. As Aksaygın most generally examines (post-)memories induced by the Cyprus dispute, its diaspora, and post-coloniality or derivative conflicts in the region and the fact that the exhibition is hosted by the Nicosia’s Old Powerhouse (NiMAC), his show deals with the history of electricity in colonial Cyprus. The foundation of his project marks the time of an explosion at the Nicosia Old Powerhouse in 1947 due to neglect caused by problematic power relations between the colonial British Government of Cyprus, the Nicosia Municipality, and the private electric company that was providing the electricity to the city at the time. Focusing his research on the causes and effects of this incident, the artist uses the information extracted from various archival, historical, and academic material, to create a speculative visual and textual narrative that can be described as Neo-Gothic storytelling or a remake of the Gothic tale Frankenstein.