Is Football Life?, Ferhat Özgür's latest exhibition, greets visitors with a double bed connecting two goal posts - a revised version of his 2002 installation, For the New Couples. The exhibition showcases a range of Özgür's works from 2002 to 2023, and explores how football can simultaneously unite and divide through the lenses of race, gender, and nationalism.
On the ground floor, visitors can view the photograph Football is Life (2002), which shows Eve giving Adam a ball instead of an apple. Acrobat (2013), on the other hand, portrays a Black street performer that Özgür commissioned for 10 euros to pose at the top of a street light while balancing a ball, reflecting on racism within the football industry.
The upper floor is designed as a protest area, highlighting the silent resistance of players towards manipulations in the football industry, reminding us of our right to refuse.
