Elif Saydam: Two Cents

"Elif Saydam's works are crawling with clues: a rotating cast of characters, logos, and symbols", writes Adam Fearon in his text Clueless, or There and Back Again. "Their work is not figurative in any normal sense: there is no representation of reality, no use of illusionistic space, no straightforward figuration. Instead, a kind of lexicon of symbols builds up: padlocks, CLOSED signs, hearts, a frog or two, grapes, lemons, fresh fruit, rotten fruit, ladders, landlords, chromosomes, labels from honey jars, brain scans, chains, daisies, daisy chains, mosquitos, bees, bugs, smiley faces, a stomach, mood rings, bow-tie pasta, wilted roses, charged political slogans, ice tea, Antifa, 555-phone numbers, butterflies, a lucky star, bloodshot eyes, wheat, the hand of Fatima, four-leaf clovers, the iconic Blue Marble . . . and mazes". Published with Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof, Hamburg, this exquisitely illustrated book also includes essays in English, German and Turkish by Maxi Wallenhorst, Asa Seresin, Vera Palme and a poetic contribution by the artist.