2003

Commissioned by the 8th Istanbul Biennial for Without You I am Nothing, a satellite project curated by Regine Basha.

I visited Istanbul with my mother Zlatka Bozhkova in May 2003. As we wandered through the city, she frequently recognized Turkish words spoken by people on the street. I made a small phrasebook of all the Turkish words and expressions she knew. My mother’s knowledge of Turkish is a sign of the linguistic deposits in the Balkans, left over from the 500 years of Turkish occupation, during which Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire.

Later that year, I was invited to participate in Without You I am Nothing, a satellite project to the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, curated by Regine Basha.

I worked as an apprentice to the bakers Sami and Aydin Eryilmaz, at Ahmet Ogullari bakery in Beyoglu. I learned how to make simits, sesame pretzels, that are the most popular snack on the streets of Istanbul. They are sold, hot out of the oven, on practically every street corner from red-and-gold carts.

At the bakery, I collaborated with the bakers to make nine new shapes of simit. The shapes were pictograms of the Turkish words my mother had recognized: ‘cloth,’ ‘eye’, ‘gift, ‘two dogs’, ‘tail’, ‘curtain’, ‘tree’, ‘fountain’ and ‘chain’.

I sold the simits on the streets of Istanbul from a rented kiosk, in paper bags designed to tell the story of the project, written in three languages - Turkish, Bulgarian and English.

The new shapes of simit sold well on the streets of Istanbul, particularly ‘cloth’, ‘tail’ and ‘gift’.

Materials & Actions: Apprenticeship at the Ahmet Ogullari simit bakery in Istanbul, Turkey. Nine new shapes of baked simits, printed paper bags, daily production and street sale of simits on Istiklal Cadessi, in the Beyoglu section of Istanbul. Twelve photographs, single channel video, 5 min 20 sec.