view from the rooftop of the Marmara Pera hotel

…from the rooftop of the Marmara Pera hotel in the Beyoğlu quarter of Istanbul, was the perk of one of the many parties kicking off the Istanbul Biennial today – but one of only two that I had the steam for after hoofing it around the entirety of the Biennial exhibition filling the endless assemblage of Sanaa-designed white boxes across three vast floors of two Antrepo industrial port buildings, and the personal highlights…?…far and away the most engaging work in the show was Broadband Bulletin Board by Budapest’s Tamás Kaszás and Anikó Lóránt, featuring a simple kiosk-like wood structure presenting videos, sketches, photographs, artifacts, etc. all seeming to suggest some people planning for a thoughtful future while also looking back; plus there was Elmgreen & Dragset’s The Black & White Diary, Fig. 5 (2009), the corner corridor of 364 earnest/homey white-framed photos of the leisure/play time of their queer community – from the strip clubs to the studio – displayed like family portraits along shelves which made me feel right at home seeing so many friends, and even some without their pants on.