Sümer Erek
London//Lefkosia
Sümer Erek is a multidisciplinary artist born in Cyprus, who currently lives and works between the UK and Cyprus. After starting his studies at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, he moved to London, where he completed his BA and postgraduate in Sculpture at Central St. Martins, and later received his Master’s in Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TRAIN) at University of the Arts London. Erek’s art practice is informed by his lived experience of displacement, trauma and a longing for new futures. His work includes paintings, installations, performances, and participatory practices, often conducted in public spaces. His work is held in both public and private collections internationally.
UPCOMING PROJECTS / EXHIBITIONS
2026 Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues (CDCD), Xarkis festival, CY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS / PERFORMANCES
2026 Takoz / Σφήνα / Wedge: Act 4: Grid, Act 5: Mirrors, Act 6: Nu, Act 7: One Day, Rüstem Kitabevi, Nicosia, CY
2025 Tearing the Air / Erimiş Zaman, (duo exhibition), Meyman Sanat Evi, Mardin and Diyarbakir, TR
Takoz / Σφήνα / Wedge: Act 3 Breath, Rüstem Kitabevi, Nicosia, CY
Chronos, It Eats Me, (duo exhibition), Municipal Arts Center – Apothikes Papadaki Limassol, CY
Tears of Gold, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, GH
Takoz / Σφήνα / Wedge: Act 2 Home,, Rüstem Kitabevi, Nicosia, CY
Farmekon, (duo exhibition), Ayorgi, CY
2024 Takoz / Σφήνα / Wedge: Act 1 Wedge, Rüstem Kitabevi, Nicosia, CY
Brittle Lemons Collective, Eklektic Manifest, Arkhe Lefkosa, Nicosia, CY
Return to Sender, Eklektic Manifest: Old Fransız Kültür Derneği, Nicosia, CY
2023 Yırtık Hava, BB Projects, İstanbul TR
2022 Embodied Moments, Gallery Marquess, London UK
2020 Life, Art and Beyond, AnOther Place, London, UK
2018 1973-2018, ArtRooms Gallery, Kyrenia, CY
Unlived Days, Hôte Gallery, Brussels, BE
2017 The Need to Doodle – Trilogy, 5th Base Gallery, London, UK
Yeasting Canvas, AnOther Place, Chefware, London, UK
Mediterranean Days, AnOther Place, Homefinders, London, UK
Anı Duruşu, Performance, AnOther Place, Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, TR
Anı Duruşu, Intervention, Lefkosa, CY
2016 Broken Tide, Project, Installation, AnOther Place N1 4NG, House, London, UK
2014 Sumer Erek Studio – Opening, Exhibition, London, UK
2012 The Sound of Cicadas, multi-disciplinary project, Beş Parmak Mountain, CY
2009 Tükenis Halleri / State of Loss, multi-disciplinary project, Sidestreet Gallery, Lefkosa, CY
2008 Across the Grain / Tree house, multi-disciplinary project, The Forty Hall, Enfield, Middlesex UK
The Newspaper House, participatory project, 5th Liverpool Biennial & Independents, Liverpool UK
The Newspaper House – Gateway, installation, Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK
2007 Raw Earth Project, multi-disciplinary project, Lefkosia, CY
Leda’s Portrait, Intervention, performance, British Museum, London, UK; Pergamon Museum, Berlin, DE, Swedish parliament, Stockholm, SE
Self Portrait, Performance, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Istanbul, TR
Ben Toprak, Performance, Venice Biennial pavilions, Venice, IT
2006 Raw Earth Project, Multi-disciplinary project, Nicosia, CY
2005 Earth Visuals, Installation, performance, Haydarpasa Art Centre, Lefkosa, CY
Flesh Line, Photography, video, Dolores de Sierra – Galleria de Arte, Madrid, ES
Opening Doors, exhibition, Cafe Gallery Projects London, UK
2004 Ash Seeds, Photography, 3rd Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK
2003 Split, residency and installation project, Gozo Contemporary, Gozo, MALTA
2002 Stitch, Participatory project, installations, Queensland Multi Media Arts Centre, London UK
Upside Down House, Multi-disciplinary installation, Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool UK The Lighthouse, Scotland s Centre for Architecture Design, Glasgow UK
Mangal, Participatory performance, 291 Gallery, London Biennale, London UK
The Bath, installation, participatory performances, Liverpool Biennial, 2002, Liverpool UK
2001 Upside Down House, Multi-disciplinary installation, Stoke Newington Festival, London UK
2000 Footnotes I, Multi-disciplinary performance, ABS, London UK
Footnotes II, Multi-disciplinary Installation and performance, Stoke Newington Festival, London UK
1999 Screen, Multi-disciplinary performance, Chat Palace Theatre, London UK
PARTICIPATORY AND SOCIALLY ENGAGED PROJECTS
2024 Borderless, Socially engaged interventions, Nova Gorica, SL
2022 Under the Fig Tree, Socially engaged project, Sumer Erek Studio, London, UK
2020 Süheyla’s Music Word, Socially engaged project, Shacklewell Mosque, London, UK
2019 In Between, Cultural heritage project, HCA, London, UK
2017 Doodling From the ‘Other Side’, Participatory project, London, UK, Lefkoşa, CY, Bodrum, TR
2015 International Arts Day, Participatory project, Sumer Erek Studio, London, UK
2014 Buffer Fringe, Participatory performance, Buffer Zone, Nicosia, CY
2009 Zygote, Pax Public Connection, multi-disciplinary collaborative project, The Black – E, Liverpool, UK
2008 The Newspaper House – Work in progress, Installation, Gillett Square Hackney, London, UK
2006 Ledra Crossin, Participatory performance, Buffer zone, Lefkosa, CY
2005 Raw Earth Project – A House in Cyprus – The Pool , Templos, CY
Ownership, Earth, Belief in Cyprus, Intervention inside parliament, Lefkoşa, CY
Opening Doors, Socially engaged project with Cypriot Centre and Cafe Gallery Projects, London, UK
RECENT RESIDENCIES, CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, ARTIST TALKS
2025 From Colonialism to the Climate Crisis, Conference, Larnaca, CY
Learning with Mountains, Conference, Kapedes, CY
Dema Heliyani, Molten Time, Artist talk, Wejegeh Amed, Diyarbakir, TR
Colonisation and Gender, CDCD Conference, Barcelona, ES
Art Circle, Residency, St Wolfgangsee, AT
Chronos, It Eats Me, Artist talk, Papadaki Centre, Limassol, CY
Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues, Seminar, Nubuke Foundation, Accra, GH
2024 Sound Ways, Sight Waves, Residency, Meyman, Mardin, TR
Participatory Methodologies, CDCD Conference, Rome, IT
Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues, Residency, Nova Gorica, SL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Nomadic Instincts, MATCA Art Space, Cluj-Napoca, RO
Die Welt Soll Hier Enden, Moving Poets Novilla, Berlin, GR
Que le monde s’achéve ici, MAS, Paris, FR
Art Circle, St Wolfgangsee, AT
2024 Dünya Burada Bitsin, Ayzeradant Galeri, İzmir, TR
Imagining Home- Between the Walls, Buffer Zone Nicosia, CY
Art for a Wounded Planet, Larnaca Municipality Gallery, Larnaca, CY
2022 Art Fiction Vol II, J/M Art Gallery, London, UK
Alchemy, The Steamship PS, London, UK
2021 TA London, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2018 Siperisaika, Endless Art Taksim, İstanbul, TR
2017 Bodrum Biennial, Bodrum, TR
The Need to Doodle – 5th Base Gallery, London, UK
2016 Visual Dialects, Framers Gallery, London, UK
The Stories They Told, 5th Base Gallery, London, UK
Of Time And Space, 12 Star Gallery, London, UK
2015 Relational Extravaganza: Arbitrary Dreams, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London, UK
2014 Art Trail, Group exhibition, Stoke Newington, London, UK
2013 Other Indications, Group exhibition, (NiMAC), Municipal Arts Centre, Nicosia, CY
2012 Terra Mediterranea In Crisis, Group exhibition, (NiMAC), Municipal Arts Centre, Nicosia, CY
Alashia, Group exhibition, Beyoglu Sanat Galerisi, Istanbul, TR
Optica festival, Video screening, Cordoba, Madrid, ES
2009 Across the Grain, multi-disciplinary project / exhibition, Edmonton Shopping Centre, London, UK
Intecrossing Lives, multi-disciplinary project / exhibition, Edmonton Shopping Centre, London, UK
Sound Ways – Site Waves, multi-disciplinary project, Edmonton Shopping Centre, London, UK
Zygote, Pax Public Connection, multi-disciplinary, installation, The Black – E, Liverpool, UK
2008 Across the Grain, group exhibition, The Forty Hall, Enfield, Middlesex UK
Shift – reflections in time and place Installation, Schwartz Gallery, London UK
Lift Festival installation, performance, Stratford, London UK
MA TrAiN Exhibition photography, installation, The House Gallery, London UK
Free Words photography, Mayfair Library, London UK
2007 Festival in Situ Installation, La Farinera del Colt, Barcelona, ES
Cyprus fest Installation, performances, Abney Public Hall, London, UK
Cold Store Site-specific Installation, Cold store building, Berlin, DE
2006 Intervention Performance, Manifesta-6 Coffee Break, Nicosia, CY
Lost School Notes Installation, –Blue print- Museum Man 4th Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK
Long Shore Drift – London Biennale 2006 Performance, Brighton Beach, Brighton, UK
10×10 Installation, Area 10, London, UK
Open Studios – (Ledra’s Portrait) Performances, Arabahmet Cultural Centre, Nicosia, CY
2005 30X30, Abney Public Hall, London, UK
Group Exhibition, Dolores de Sierra – Galleria de Arte – Madrid, ES
Insula Ovinium, W. Hogarth Museum, London, UK
Bayennale international art Festival, San Francisco, USA
London in Six Easy Step, Installation, ICA, London, UK
2004 A Drop of Dust, A Grain of Water Installation, photography, Berliner Kunstprojekt, Berlin, DE
Insula Ovinium, The Rockhouse Gallery, Cost Study Centre, Sheerness, Sheppey, UK
Group Event, Video installation, 291 Gallery, London, UK
Six Thousand Chairs, Installation, performance, Chrysal Palace Park, London, UK
Long Shore Drift – London Biennale 2004, Performance, Brighton Beach, Brighton, UK
Painting exhibition, Elele Gallery, Paris, FR
Soprimaverdada – Resuscitation, Installation, Area 10, London, UK
2003 Scenes in Perspective, ArTower Agora, Athens, GR
Colours of Dereliction, Site-specific, collaborative project, Liverpool, UK
Changing Channels, Backfabrik, Berlin, GERMANY
Paradise – (Domestic Dreams) Installation, Alexanderplatz Bunker, Berlin, DE
Paradise, Performance, Kunstlerverein Mankasten, Dusseldorf, DE
The Derelict Sensation, Installation, St. Pancras Chambers, London, UK
The Rape of Europe,, Luke & A Gallery, London, UK
2002 Visibility vs. invisibility, Installation, Stoke Newington Festival, London UK
Chaos: Contemporary Cosmologies, The Bishopsgate Goodsyard London, UK
M.A.I.S. Exhibition – (Mirrors of Displacement), Installation, Liverpool Biennial 2002, Liverpool, UK
Incubator,m Site-specific sculpture, Hackney City Farm, London, UK
2001 Turkish Artists Group Exhibition, Painting, St Martin s in the Field Gallery, London, UK
Act One, Arcola Theatre Gallery, London, UK
Monitor, Video installation, Gallery X, New York, USA
What If? Reflections on Choice, Multi-disciplinary installation & performance, Kifisias, Athens, GR
14X14, Mafuji Gallery, London UK
What If? In Residence, In Transit, Installation, Teesdale St. London, UK
2000 Corridor Installation, Gallery X, New York, USA
Extreme Exteriors, Installation, Gallery X, New York, USA
Group Exhibition, St Martin’s in the Field Gallery, London, UK
