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Reading or making music. what's really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey who's engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalism and somehow, what? he's subtly transforming it, he's — he's reclaiming it? yes, we can say that. he was painting the orient within the orient. whether you think that hamdi in the tortoise trainer was not so covertly criticising ottoman power, he was, at least, i believe, still operating within the parameters of western orientalism, while, if not subtly resisting or subverting them, then at least raising a wry eyebrow. but of cours...

The elite taste of the time. i mean, ok, cosplay may be not quite the art—historically appropriate term, but there's a sort of sense of dressing up that clearly, his clients, they wanted that. yeah, exactly. the beginnings of all of that fantastical side, if you like, of orientalism. i feel there's glimmerings of that here. so fundamentally, orientalism is about the west's imagined vision of the east, but the pera is also home to work by a fascinating artist, long considered a turkish orientalist — osman hamdi bey. his masterpiece is the tortoise trainer. but before we look at it, baris wa...

But he painted people reading or making music. what's really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey who's engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalism and somehow, what? he's subtly transforming it, he's — he's reclaiming it? yes, we can say that. he was painting the orient within the orient. whether you think that hamdi in the tortoise trainer was not so covertly criticising ottoman power, he was, at least, i believe, still operating within the parameters of western orientalism, while, if not subtly resisting or subverting them, then at least raising a wry...

He can say, "look, if you dress up in this, i've brought this "as well, i've got the dress here. "you could look as beautiful as mimica." is that sort of the idea? exactly. european people, everybody was interested in ottoman culture, and everything related with it. it's interesting to sort of think that this was almost like a very high, classy advertisement for what he could do. this is an image which is projecting status, fashionability — the elite taste of the time. i mean, ok, cosplay may be not quite the art—historically appropriate term, but there's a sort of sense of dressing up tha...

The interior of the arch, and lots of people have thought "ah, painted 1906 — the very final years "of the ottoman empire". and they've put all of these things together and given a sort of subversive political reading to this painting. but i'm sensing it's not one that you buy. chuckles. no, i don't buy that. but i buy this. he wasn't a typical orientalist. i mean, orientalism liked idle figures doing nothing. but he painted people reading or making music. what's really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey who's engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalis...