Betül Aksucitizen speak turkish
2022
Installation, 180 x 60 cm
Part of officialese series, produced at School of Commons residency

citizen speak turkish consists of wrinkled paper cut into letters that spell out a command once used as part of a state campaign in Turkey. The letters are strung together like a party banner, recalling phrases such as “happy birthday,” a backdrop where families gather, smile, and pose for photographs.

This celebratory form contrasts with the phrase itself, which was used to erase the public presence of non-Turkish languages. The work quietly holds the violence of forced assimilation within an object that appears festive and harmless. It asks what kind of language we are expected to celebrate, and what is silenced behind it.