The video work ‘Cinefication/Tarot and Chess/’ portrays universal patterns of human behaviour and their relationship to past, present and future, as seen through the prism of literary expressions. The interpretations of the tarot cards allude to classic tales such as ‘Faust’, ‘Oedipus’, and Shakespearian narratives such as ‘Hamlet’, ‘Macbeth’ and ‘King Lear’. Alongside the film Ergin Çavuşoğlu exhibits a series of paintings and reliefs that are representative of the tarot and act as conceptual clarifications.

screenplay Arnold Barkus and Ergin Çavuşoğlu (based on extracts from ‘Il castello dei destini incrociati’, Italo Calvino © 2002, The Estate of Italo Calvino) cast Gökhan Girginol, Bernard Van Eeghem, Jasper Box, Eurudike De Beul, Junior Mthombeni, Daphné Verhelst, Voss Ryckewaert, Mesut Arslan, Kiluangi Wolf scenography Meryem Bayram production Valerie De Visscher, Kevin Reynaert produced by Platform 0090 coproduction Extra City Kunsthal, FLACC with support from SAHA (Istanbul), Middlesex University (London), Stad Antwerpen director of photography Nikos Welter executive producer Platform 0090 producers FLACC and Extra City director Ergin Cavusoglu composer Esben Tjave

**April 2020: Desire Lines /Tarot & Chess/  has been selected by the Istanbul Modern Museum for the Artist’s Film International programme, which was established by the Whitechapel Gallery in 2008. The programme has 20 international partners and the work will have a global exposure across many prestigious museums throughout the year. 

see more: www.istanbulmodern.org