Deniz Sözen / Group XXXVII, Oct 2013 - Mar 2014

JAYWALK

3/14/14 to 3/16/14

Mackey Apartments and Garages 1137 S. Cochran Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90019

Artist Deniz Sözen navigated Los Angeles by its ethnic enclaves, from Chinatown to Koreatown to Little Armenia and Little Ethiopia. Arguing that a key component of the American city are these neighborhoods where previously un-associated cultures are placed side-by-side and expected to coexist, Sözen produced an experimental documentary video exploring multiculturalism in Los Angeles. The video presented a case study of two such spatially overlapping areas: Little Armenia and Thai Town in East Hollywood.

Called transangeles and shown in her apartment, the video was composed of interviews with leading figures of those communities and an aesthetic exploration of how visual elements and architecture contribute to the performance/staging of cultural identity and belonging. As a self-reflexive appendix to the installation, the artist put up a street sign in front of the Mackey Apartments, designating the zone as “Little Austria.”