Queer readings in contemporary art and biopolitics

This thesis presents a study that explores the traces of geographical politics through art works based on queer theory and queer aesthetic criticism in Turkey. The focal point of the research is to examine how a local queer imagery is constructed through art works representing the queer subject and how it is associated with cultural, historical, and political discourses. Additionally, the research analyzes the reciprocal political intervention between these works and power. The study focuses on the visual expression of a language involved in both local queer policy implementation and universal positioning within queer activism. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the reflections of oppressive and derogatory discourses concerning gender and queer subjects from the 1980 Military Coup to the AKP government, and how to establish a political stance through a local queer aesthetic imagery. In this scope, an examination spanning from the 1980s to the present day is conducted, with a specific focus on Pride Week exhibitions.