PLACEBO EFFECT

Solo exhibition at Operation Room, Istanbul

April 25 - May 10, 2016

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Inspired by the name of Istanbul’s Operation Room gallery and its location within a medical complex, Ali Cabbar’s exhibition Placebo Effect explores the idea of belief as a form of treatment—and illusion—as a form of social reality. Extending the concept of the placebo beyond medicine, Cabbar examines how it operates in politics, contemporary art, and sports, revealing the deep polarization and contradictions within Turkish society. Through irony and sharp visual commentary, the artist questions how symbols, promises, and collective expectations can function like remedies without substance.​

In a series of witty and critical works, Cabbar transforms familiar cultural icons into reflections on manipulation and desire. Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE becomes LIKE, updated through the language of social media and public approval, while the traditional Turkish drink rakı is reimagined as a universal medicine—a symbolic cure for social and political discomfort. These works reveal how easily belief systems are constructed and consumed, often replacing real solutions with emotional reassurance.​

One of the most striking works in the exhibition, The Other Side of the Pain, serves as a stark reminder of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The figure portrayed is the artist himself, wearing a medal inscribed with the dates 1915–2015 in Ottoman numerals. Printed on canvas, the work recalls the Orientalist portraits of medal-covered Ottoman statesmen and military figures from the nineteenth century—those who shaped official history while silencing its violence. Through self-portraiture, Cabbar turns the image into a political act of remembrance, exposing the pain hidden beneath national narratives.