I believe this will, which I wrote before my situation went bad and without having given away my custody, should not mean anything to anyone as it won’t mean anything to me once I’m no more. To my dear children Mina Roni and Heja: I was young and I went astray like all young people do. I made art. Forgive me. Make sure I’m forgotten. No one should talk about me. I couldn’t make anything beautiful. The world didn’t do any better in my time. It became even worse. Make sure I’m forgotten. This was the only thing I couldn’t dare to do when I was alive. Do it. Wouldn’t it be just great if a collector bought my “getting myself completely forgotten performance.” Work and spend what you make to get me to be forgotten. I would say that but I won’t. Bot: What a silly idea, couldn’t think of anything else? J You seriously made me think about my will for two entire days ))) My children will know what to do if I managed to give them a decent education. Note: There’s no typo in “Bot.” “Note” is not the correct version. No need for editing ))) With love…

Translated from Turkish by Özge Ersoy

Born in 1977 in Diyarbakır, Cengiz Tekin graduated from the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Çukurova University (1999). The artist who opened a solo exhibition titled “The Original Message” at Outlet Galeri (Istanbul) in 2009, participated in recent group exhibitions including “Consequences are no coincidence”, Pilot Gallery, Istanbul (2012), “Alternativa 2011”, Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdansk, Poland (2011), “East by South West, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (2011), “Second Exhibition”, ARTER, Istanbul (2010), Fantaisie et Ile / Fantasy and Island, FRAC Corse, Corsica, France (2010), Not Easy to Save the World in 90 Days, TANAS, Berlin, Germany (2009), What about Power Relations?, Vzigalica Gallery of City Museum of Ljubljana, Slovenia (2008). Cengiz Tekin also participated in biennials like, 7th Santiago Video and New Media Biennial, Santiago, Chile (2005), “Free Kick” , Hospitality Zone, 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005), “Love It or Leave It”, 5. Cetinje Biennial, National Museum of Cetinje, Montenegro (2004).

Vasiyetimdir* is a publication project that aims to explore how art works will subsist over long periods of time. Art works live in artist studios, private collections, museums, storage spaces, or simply in memories. But how far do the artists want to control what happens to their works when they are no longer? How do they want to exert their control? We directed these questions to the artists we are in dialogue with. We are accumulating their answers through m-est.org.

*Vasiyetimdir is a Turkish phrase that can roughly be translated into English as “It is my will that…” The phrase holds a tint of the melodramatic, mixed with a sentimental flair.

Vasiyetimdir was conceived by Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Özge Ersoy, and Merve Ünsal.