Two Envelopes, 2013
Merve Ünsal, Two envelopes (diptych), 2013. L: Two envelopes, from other production. R: Two envelopes, from artistic production. Envelopes, pins, black box frames. Installation view from Almost Done at 5533, Istanbul, May 2013. Photo by Sevim Sancaktar.
The artist has been collecting envelopes in which she receives money since the first time she was paid an artist’s fee in 2012, a practice she continues to this day. As receiving payment in an envelope is also an indication of being part of the informal economy in Turkey, these works draw on the only existing paper trail of these interactions, as well as the distinction between her artistic labor and her freelance work, which often supports the unpaid or underpaid artistic labor.
