Ilker Cinarel – An Interview.

When we first approached Ilker Cineral to exhibit his paintings at the deli he suggested that he use the time to test out a new project he was embarking on, where he would be showing his work in cafes and other public spaces.

This in itself isn’t anything new, artists have been using the walls of restaurants, hotels and bars as a way of getting their work ‘out there’ for centuries.  

What was different in this case was that Ilker was suggesting that he would use this opportunity to embrace the spaces he was showing his work in. Rather than thinking of the space as a gallery, he would think of it as a café and consider how this would affect the way people would view his work. He even went so far as to give us the names of his paintings on a ‘menu’ that would be left on our tables. 

‘What was your motivation to start this project, where you will be showing in public social spaces?

When you invited me to show at the café it inspired me to think about what is the difference between showing my works at a café rather than in a gallery space and what the meaning could be? I started to think more about the idea of cafés and I realised how important cafés are to me both culturally and personally. I started to work around these thoughts.

It came to my mind that there were two different ways of looking at it through Coffee as a drink and café as a space. These two things presented a starting point for this project. It led me to think about how my work could be like a sort of coffee that stimulates conversation in a more relaxed and informal place.

From reading your statement it’s obvious that coffee, and coffee culture is really important to you and your background. How different do you find that culture in Cornwall, or the Rest of Briton, compared to Turkey or the rest of Europe?

Turkish Coffee in my culture is drunk publicly by everyone after each meal, and is offered to guests

 as a gesture of hospitality and friendship. I like to think of my work in this same context. Generally woman love to visit each other to have a coffee and to read their fortune and open up honest and trusting dialogues.

However the Kahvahane – kahve(coffee) hane(house) is generally for men as a meeting place to play 

cards, tavla, dominos and snooker etc. When I was a young adult, women were not welcome to the kahvehane. These days women visit kahvehane in the city but still not really in small towns. I went to the kahvehane often with my male friends but I never enjoyed it that much. It was smokey and just like all the other men we were wasting time there, hanging out, when I thought we could be doing something much more creative. But since then some new cafes in Turkey have become much more European just lik

e here. Cafes have become more fashionable to young people and welcome everybody. So I suppose the difference between Cornwall and Urban Turkey is now much less than it used to be.

It seems like Kahvahane culture is more similar to traditional British pub culture than our cafe’s are. Do you think the exhibition would change significantly if it were displayed in a hotel or bar? Are there any spaces it would not work, and why?

I like the idea of exhibiting at a hotel but the work would have to be different or I would display it in a different way. But a bar might work just like a café does for me. Generally I’m interested in showing to wider audiences through sort of ‘do it yourself’ exhibitions in unexpected places.

I said showing work in a pub or a bar works in similar way for me but I think at a pub or bar people people will relate to the work completely differently because of the condition are they in. But at the moment just I am looking all sort of possibilities making, doing looking all sort of possibilities to show to work as much as different places. I started and I don’t know how will be end up.

That ‘do it yourself’ approach is really valuable in somewhere like Cornwall where we don’t have many non-commercial art spaces. Rather then just parachuting into a space and treating it like a white cube, it’s normal to consider the context of the space, it’s history, it’s architecture 

etc. It’s not often I’ve seen the same thinking applied to cafes though, they often (but not always) get treated as a blank wall.

I borrowed the idea of “Do it yourself” from Andy Warhol and I’ve been developing it. When I was watching interview with Jasper Joffe he was saying his friends were asking him; “I want to do show, how can I get the show? How do I get to my work out there?” Joffe said to them that if you want to show your works put them in a café, put in a pound shop. They thought about different places to show thier works and this

 thought generated and developed into the project. They often treated spaces as a blank wall but also, I believe, a chance for recognition and assurance.

One of the appeals, for me, of showing contemporary work in places like the deli is that it is not as intimidating as a gallery. If someone has the idea that they don’t get ‘modern art’ they probably wouldn’t go to a gallery were they have to make a commitment and they might feel pressure to ‘understand’ the art, or have opinions, or even to like it. In cafe people come in 

because they want a coffee or some lunch, and there happens to be something interesting on the walls. 

Sure, the audience will be different. But I enjoy the fact people can take it or leave it on their own terms. People can react how they want to. On the one hand it is public but it is also very intimate.

I think it also gives time for people to appreciate the art on their own terms, and over several different occasions. If you are a regular customer there’s an opportunity to keep noticing new elements. It’s a really different way to interact with work, compared to a gallery.

I enjoyed the part of your statement where you said that the paintings could join in the conversation of the customers.

Do you have any conversation starters to help people start these discussions?

Well, of course in depends which kind of mood people are in or which kind of  reason they came to the café.  Often people coming to the café meet up with their friends or they are having a meeting or they are completely coming to be alone have a rest, read, have a coffee. Generally if is not serious meeting, if we went to just have a little catch up with our friends then in that moment we are starting to looking around us and talking about what surrounds us. Then conversations start and we can start to wonder what these works are about or who is the artist and discuss about all how they reflect upon us. This can, unconsciously, be a very productive discussion.’

The exhibition runs until 24th March.

Happy New Year!

After a great Christmas it feels good to hit the ground running with loads lined up for 2012.

We have new products on the horizon; the imminent arrival of our new fly-wheel meat slicer and some refurbishment on the cards; that’s just for starters, so we’re hoping for another exciting year of developments at the Courtyard Deli.

Normal opening hours have resumed – including Sunday’s from 10-16:00 with the small exception of January 22nd (we are off out on our belated and well earned Christmas-do for the day, sorry about that).

Coming Soon:

• Lunchtime Take-Away Meal Deal
• A return show from Caravanserai… details to follow.
• Next art exhibition dates
• New Menu including an exciting new Breakfast & Children’s Menu
• Outside Catering - did you know we offered a whole variety of solutions for all manner of events?

For further info on all of the above simply watch this space x

Your Deli Needs You

Call out for contemporary artists!!

We are currently looking for submissions from artists, illustrators and photographers.

We are planning a series of contemporary and engaging exhibitions in the upstairs café gallery area. One of the aims of the new programme is to show artists whose work breaks the mould of what is considered typical of art shown in cafés and restaurants in Cornwall and to give the gallery a strong contemporary feel.

All practices and work will be considered as long as the work can be hung on the walls and can be considered relatively 2D. However, any artists wishing to apply should be aware that the work will be displayed in a working café environment which therefore puts some obvious restrictions on content and medium (for example nothing overtly graphic or work created from potentially unstable materials).

The deli is particularly interested in showcasing the talents of local emerging talent and giving a platform to work that is not only decorative but will create a talking point and offer something new to our customers.

Each exhibition will have a two month run, with the first opening mid July where there will be a private view/ evening opening for each show.

To apply please contact rae@courtyarddeli.co, copying in phil.k.rushworth@gmail.com with:

• a short artists statement/ biography
• either a link to your online portfolio or a selection of images (Jpeg or PDF)

The Deadline for submissions is Friday the 1st of July. Successful applicants should be prepared to meet at the deli for a follow up meeting in early July.

We are really excited about what we can bring together in terms of this new venture! Looking forward to your submissions!