Ülkü Süngün
b. 1970 in Istanbul
lives in Stuttgart
2012 | Studies in sculpture at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart under Werner Pokorny, Udo Koch and Felix Ensslin (Degree Diploma in Fine Arts) |
1999-2003, 2010 |
Process engineer in the development at United Technologies Research Center GmbH, Aachen, and Lufttechnische Gesellschaft AG, Stuttgart |
1991-1998 | Studies in process technology at the Technische Universität Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Imperial College of London and at the Rheinisch Westfälischen Technische Hochschule Aachen (Degree Diploma) |
1989-1990 | Studies in chemical engineering at the Universitiy Istanbul |
2021 | #take care Fond DaKu Residency |
2020 | 10 qm / Corona Katalyse, Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart Atelierstipendium Künstlerhaus Stuttgart Ifa-Ausstellungsförderung Tiflis |
2019 | Reisestipendium IFA (für Einzelausstellungsvorbereitung in Tiflis) Residency 2019 im Zeitraumexit e.V., Mannheim Nominierung für den Landeslehrpreis Baden-Württemberg seitens der ABK Stuttgart Atelierstipendium Künstlerhaus Stuttgart |
2018 | Atelierstipendium Künstlerhaus Stuttgart Förderkoje Preis der Freunde der ABK Stuttgart zum Rundgang für mitteperformance_camping |
2017-2019 | Brigitte-Schlieben-Lange-Programm Stipendium für künstlerisches Vorhaben, Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg Shortlist Stiftungspreis für Fotografie, Stiftung Alison und Peter W. Klein, Eberdingen-Nussdorf |
2015-2018 | Mathilde-Planck-Lehrauftragsprogramm Förderung, Ministeriums für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg |
2014 | Förderung durch das Debutanten-Programm (vergleichbar Meisterschüler*in) der ABK Stuttgart und des Ministeriums für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg |
2011 | 1. Preis des Gedenksteinprojektes zu Deportation vom Killesbergpark, Stuttgart. Eingeweiht am 26.4.2013 |
2021 | Anlatsam Roman Olur – Die besten Romane schreibt das Leben, Contemporary Art Gallery, Historical Museum Tiflis |
2020 | Gemeingut Jungbusch, Zeitraumexit e.V., Mannheim |
2019 | Cruising, Nachtwandel Festival, Zeitraumexit e.V., Mannheim |
2015 | Anlatsam Roman Olur – Die besten Romane schreibt das Leben, Villa Merkel / Bahnwärterhaus, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen |
2021-2022 | Kubus. Sparda-Kunstpreis, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart Offener Prozeß, ASA FF e.V., Chemnitz eMotions, Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart Technoseum, Mannheim Spielart Festval 2021, München Kunstverein Neuhausen Clinch Festival, Hannover Impulse Festival, Köln, Düsseldorf, Mülheim an der Ruhr |
2020 | IMPLANTIEREN Festival 2020- site specific performance festival, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Offenbach |
2019 | Çevirmek-Übersetzen, Festival Wochenende, Zeitraumexit e.V., Mannheim |
2018 | NSU Tribunal Mannheim, Kunsthalle Mannheim Körper. Poetik. Performance, Symposium, ABK Stuttgart Ch[a]rita, Dar Bellarj und Le 18, Marrakech New Narratives 2: Ökonomien anders denken, Kunstgebäude Stuttgart |
2017 | BAZAR, Zeitraumexit e.V., Mannheim Supercopy, Port 25, Mannheim Open Minded, Kunstwerk, Sammlung Alison und Peter W. Klein, Eberdingen-Nussdorf |
2016 | Geschlechter. Rollen. Identitäten//Genre(s). Rôle(s). Identité(s), Le 18, Marrakesch Du und Ich, Hospitalhof Stuttgart Crossing Media: Good Space-politische, ästhetische und urbane Räume, Villa Merkel, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen |
2015 | Ich bin da. Künstlerische Perspektiven zum Thema Flucht, ehemaliges Kloster St. Klara, Regensburg |
2014 | #10: Ankommen, Kunstwerk, Sammlung Alison und Peter W. Klein, Eberdigen-Nussdorf Über die Grenze und trotzdem begrenzt – Asyl in Kirchheim, Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Städtische Galerie im Kornhaus, Kirchheim/Teck |
2013 | no place to hide: Ort Kontrolle Produktioen, Agentur für Arbeit, Stuttgart Gedenkort für deportierte Juden und Jüdinnen am Killesbergpark (Erinnerungskörper) |
2011 | Wie geht’s dir Stuttgart? / Stuttgart, how are you doing?, Künstlerhaus Stuttgart |
Süngün sees herself as an artist with a political mission. She takes up topics on migration and identity politics in Germany in various media such as photography, sculpture, installation, and lecture performance. Her works have a documentary character, and she uses them to expose prejudices and sets decisive impulses on these topics through her artistic research.
Anlatsam Roman Olur / Die besten Romane schreibt das Leben
“Lauter Steine” (Nothing but Stones) and “Lacrimarium Europae” are part of the group of works “Anlatsam Roman Olur / Die besten Romane schreibt das Leben” (Life Itself Writes the Best Novels), which tells of the living conditions and fears of refugees in Germany. The staged photographic novel “Lauter Steine” describes the everyday life of the Georgian stonemason Sergio Pipa and his critically ill wife, Marina Tsertsvadze, who live in a refugee shelter. Sergio cuts reliefs in stones from the Lauter River, which he sells at markets to finance his companion’s medical treatment. Their hopes of a finding a therapy for Marina fail, however, because of the current asylum regulations, and they leave Germany. At this point, the documentary/realistic narrative structure shifts into the absurd/fictional. With the help of a magic file, Sergio transforms his wife into a stone object and travels back to Georgia with her in his suitcase. Süngün’s additional research on the subject of asylum flows into the installation “Lacrimarium Europae”. Various objects, pictures, and documents refer to the negotiation strategies immigrants engage to avert the threat of deportation or to have a positive impact on an open asylum process.
Gemeingut Jungbusch
The video installation “Gemeingut Jungbusch” (Jungbush Common Property) was created in Mannheim in 2020. In the city’s immigrant-dominated district of Jungbusch, the artist primarily researched the role of cultural institutions. Here, issues such as gentrification and the lack of political participation also play a major role. At the end of the project, Süngün presented the results of her research to the public in workshops, conferences, and an exhibition. The short films and music videos she made in connection with the project reflect the conditions in which the people in the Jungbusch district live.
Takdir. Die Anerkennung
The background to the performative work “Takdir. Die Anerkennung” (The Appreciation) are the racially motivated murders committed by the right-wing extremist terrorist group NSU between 2000 and 2006. Whereas many people are familiar with the names of the perpetrators, hardly anyone knows those of the victims, who have a migrant background. Süngün attributes this to reporting that focuses on perpetrators, which has an influence on our culture of remembrance. She therefore first teaches the participants of her performance the sound of individual letters and then the correct pronunciation of the names of the ten murdered people: Enver Şimsek, Abdurrahim Özüdogru, Süleyman Tasköprü, Habil Kılıç, Mehmet Turgut, Ismail Yasar, Theodoros Boulgarides, Mehmet Kubasık, Halit Yozgat, and Michèle Kiesewetter. The collective repetition of the names generates a common memory in which recognition and appreciation are expressed.
Das Benennen
Süngün repeatedly explores the meaning and function of proper names. Their correct articulation contributes to people feeling seen and respected in society. It is mostly immigrants who have to point out the correct pronunciation of their name or accept that it is mispronounced. Some even change their name as a result. The sound installation “Das Benennen” (The Naming) makes the visitor aware of the numerous ways of mispronouncing the first name “Evein”. The artist picks up on this cultural difference with the motif of red apples from a new and still unnamed variety. On the initiative of Süngün and fruit growers from Lake Constance, it is—following examination by the Federal Office of Plant Varieties—to be called “Ivie”, after the eponymous red hair ornament from Nigeria.


Transitional Objects
In her photo series “Transitional Objects” Süngün explores the question of what constitutes cultural identity and home from her own personal perspective. In Turkish stores in Stuttgart, she finds items that are commonplace for her but unknown to many Germans. She detaches the objects from their familiar context and uses them as the material of her sculptural arrangements, which survive only as photographs. They tell of Turkish culture lived in Germany, but only those familiar with the objects and their original function can decipher them.