Purpose of
the REVOLUTION
Versatile Smurf killed Papa Smurf and burned the Smurf Village down as a simulacrum. Then, Versatile and Mentor Smurfs decided to tell the story by making a performance art in Istanbul’s most famous street called Bağdat Street. They told the story beneath killing of Papa Smurf.
“Papa Smurf represents a custos morum who influences and deceives his village members just as institutions of our world: society, family, school, etc. Gargamel, on the other hand, is an ugly man who loves himself and just wants to be happy. We can create our own change by changing our environment. Since we can not touch every person in our lives, the ones resisting change may need to be eliminated, just to save us the trouble. Therefore, the “Smurfs Performance” mentioned here is about cleaning our personal environment, changing ourselves and making our individual existence even more present.
For those who want to join us, all you have to do is to participate in your own desired way. We want a BIG REVOLUTION, not a small one. The only thing we are going to do is to spend the next Saturday as Smurfs. We will walk from Bostancı to Moda.”
During the performance that lasted for hours, Versatile & Mentor Smurf talked to hundreds of people saying “We killed Papa Smurf & we burned the village down”.
Facebook Event, 2015
The following day, Versatile got a call from Hürriyet newspaper that they wanted to interview him and feature their project on their weekend arts supplement.
DAMN PAPA SMURF
On a rainy and gloomy day, Versatile Smurf performed as “The Joker looking for Batman” in Kadıköy with Hürriyet’s photographer, and gave an interview about why he killed Papa Smurf.
“Everyone works as if they are slaves in the Smurf Village. Only Papa Smurf is at ease. Because he does the most influential jobs like practicing medicine and witchcraft. Smurfette is the only woman in the village. She’s always around Papa Smurf… Grouchy Smurf, Clumsy Smurf, Vanity Smurf… they always take a back seat. However, they are the Smurfs who have gained identities not as slaves of the system, but through their individual existences. But Papa Smurf does not care about them. Here we are taking a stand against this. While we were talking about this with Mentor Smurf (Gün Akıncı), Gargamel abducts us.
During our captivity, we realize that Gargamel was not actually a bad guy, but an unhappy man because he could not socialize. Upon returning to Smurf Village, we no longer hide from people. The women who witnessed the performance and happened to like us turned into Smurfettes. It turns out that the problem was not with Gargamel or other people. It was with Papa Smurf who scared us of them. The problem is with the “fathers” who scare us from the world outside!
After realizing this, we killed Papa Smurf, burned the village down and saved only the Smurfs we love.“
Hürriyet & Uncensored, 2016
SMURFY REVOLUTION
Versatile and Mentor Smurfs gave an interview about why and how they did this revolution on Akbank Sanat, and they declared their identities and explained their Smurfy alter-egos.
“One day I visited North Cyprus for a meeting regarding an opportunity to join Girne American University as a lecturer. At a Halloween party, I have met two people dressed up as the Papa Smurf and the Smurfette. This couple inspired and enlightened me on a personal level to rediscover myself:
I was a licensed football player but had to quit due to health problems. This was Can. An athlete and a brawler. Then I created the alter ego “Cani” and it turned into an identity. Cani; an artist and an ecstatic. When my ego and alter ego merged, the “Versatile Smurf” was born.
I have explained this nuanced reality to the people around me. Once again, many called me insane; yet it inspired Gün Akıncı, previously a licensed basketball player, and became a high fashion model & an actor. He took the persona as, “Mentor Smurf”. And he is the only Smurf whom I have named. Together we became a duality of good and evil. Also, we lay down only one rule: The Smurf identity must be independent of a job title & existing profession.
Thereby we started a Smurf trend with the slogan, “The world is such because you are such. The universe is perfect as it is. You are the only one who needs to change.”
She Became A Smurfette
For JUSTICE
Following the newspaper coverages & our social media communications, many different people with various ages & backgrounds wanted to participate by creating their own Smurf personalities and they became the Smurfs in the new virtual Smurfy Village. Later, Versatile & Mentor Smurfs partnered with a famous fashion model Şebnem Schaefer during 2016 Istanbul Fashion Week as the “Querier Smurfette”. The media attention grew further. As a Smurfette she gave many interviews to TV broadcast networks and newspapers. She announced that she was Querier Smurfette because she wants justice in the world.
Milliyet, 2016
Warner Bros. Turkey representative contacted Versatile Smurf on Instagram in February 2017 and asked for more details, documents of his project. Following some more exchanges, the Warner Brothers representative said that they have submitted his project to head office in America, but then moved in a different direction. At the beginning of 2017, the script writing of the movie “Joker” started. The film was released in 2019. Versatile Smurf consulted professors, lawyers, critics, and people interested in art, all confirmed that there were remarkable similarities between his submitted project and “Joker” movie.
It seems that both projects are built on the same essence but in different forms.
