Journalist and television presenter Tuluhan Tekelioğlu, who began a project as television journalism in 2004, is now presenting it to the public in an exhibition setting at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery, four years later, as an artistic project.

Using a method frequently employed on television, Tuluhan Tekelioğlu pointed her camera at 150 people, some passersby and others well-known public figures, and asked them six questions to answer on the spot: What is your biggest dream? Have you ever been in love? To whom did you last buy a gift? From whom did you last receive a gift? What is the thing you most want to have in your life? What are the aspects of yourself that you criticize the most? The result is 900 answers given "on the spot," without any calculation.

Some selected excerpts from these interviews might not even catch our attention if they were broadcast on a television program or news program; even if we saw them, we might not think about them at all. The answers to these “ordinary” questions, through Tuluhan Tekelioğlu’s unique presentation, acquire different meanings worthy of consideration, transforming into a contemporary art event.

In “Ayaküstü Cevaplar” conceived and designed by Bülent Erkmen, the answers to six questions are presented in rapid succession, resulting in six separate video films featuring the same individuals. These films are shown on six screens placed within six columns in the exhibition hall. The viewer sees people constantly talking, their faces rapidly changing, and hears other conversations coming from various directions.

Tuluhan Tekelioğlu doesn’t claim to convey a specific message in this presentation. She simply confronts the viewer with a social questioning. By the end of the show, the viewer finds themselves more familiar with the “unknown” people initially speaking to them, some “well-known” popular figures encountered by the camera on the street, and realizes they are more than just a viewer.

Looking at the videos in “Ayaküstü Cevaplar” you see that the things we most desire in our lives are peace, security, and health. When it comes to our biggest dreams, the paths of popular culture celebrities and our lesser-known figures diverge somewhat. Celebrities are clearly more daring; they can broaden their horizons: some aspire to win an Oscar; others dream of taking Turkish cinema to the world stage, writing their names in film history; some envision creating a television program with a stadium-full audience. Our lesser-known figures, on the other hand, dream of a car, a house, a good job, a quiet life, and, in the boldest of cases, traveling the world.

If the same street survey had been conducted 30 years ago, would these answers have been given? How have the years changed these people? How will they change in the future? A simple questioning process can lead to these points. Conversations that begin with "they" turn into conversations with "we." Some things gain meaning this way.

A few years have passed since that questioning. Who knows, some may have long since parted ways with the lover who made their hearts flutter when they received their gifts, some may have lost their love, some may still be waiting for their dreams to come true, and some, if you ask them, still direct the same criticisms at themselves. But other faces are still providing answers to these questions. Life goes on. The vast sky above us embraces all our small domes, even if we are unaware of it.

Tuluhan Tekelioğlu, who has been a journalist for fifteen years and a television programmer for eight, is from France. She studied Journalism at Ankara University. While pursuing her master's degree in France, she began her journalism career with photographs she took for Sipa Oress. Upon returning to Turkey, she worked for Hürriyet and Sabah newspapers. She produced television programs for Habertürk, Cine 5, TGRT, Kanal D, and Kanal 1, and won various awards.