Museums, i believe, are really having a moment, and thats what i want to explore. This is amazing. So this is his studio. I can walk around, can i . He was painting the orient within the orient. When you see my work, you can easily link the concepts, lets say, or the technique, anything from them, as inspiring. I think thats rather wonderful. Im in istanbul, that great, entrancing, ancient megalopolis, once the capital of the byzantine and ottoman empires. Lying on either side of the bosporus strait, its a city that straddles two continents, europe and asia, so it feels like the Perfect Place to discover for myself the long, still evolving story of Cultural Exchange between east and west. Im starting at the pera museum, once an exclusive hotel in the heart of istanbuls diplomatic district. I cant think of anywhere else quite like it, a unique, privately run museum, with a collection exploring the relationship between east and west a centuries long exchange that culminated in a controversial art movement known as orientalism. Im here, though, to find out how people in turkey feel about orientalism today. For art historians, orientalism is quite a specific concept that draws upon the argument of this very famous book published in 1978 by the intellectual edward said. And it refers to a period, principally during the 19th century, when Western Artists relished depicting subjects from the near east, including turkey. To make their compositions convincing, these artists, who sometimes didnt even travel outside europe, stuffed them full of supposedly authentic details. Yet often, they ended up painting these opulent fantasies that said and others later criticised for a colonialist mindset. It almost feels unfair to single out one work in particular to exemplify orientalism. But this is quite an interesting example. It dates from the late 19th century. Its by a british artist, and its very gorgeous. It has this wonderful golden late day light, which suffuses the whole scene. And in the foreground, you have this boat where a well to do young lady is being rowed along the golden horn. And i think to me, why it feels quite orientalist is that the people who are moving that boat, theyre made to seem quite subservient. So the underlying idea is that the islamic peoples it depicts are seen as somehow being inferior. This othering by Western Artists can be insidious, and it often occurred unconsciously. The Special Collection at the pera museum allows us to trace the evolution of this world view, and ive been excited for a while about coming face to face with this sumptuous, pastel portrait which has been taken out of storage for me. Its by a wonderful 18th century swiss artist who i think deserves to be much better known, jean etienne liotard. Looking at it with me is pera museum curator, baris kibris. Baris, im really happy that you could bring this out of the stores for us, because its stunning. Its such a ravishing work of art. Tell me a little bit about the artist. He was a swiss artist. He was one of the first masters of Pastel Painting in the 18th century. He lived here in turkey for four years. He starts dressing, right, in turkish costume . Exactly. He grows a very long beard. I think he was even known as � the turk�. It was kind of a marketing, and it worked. He was enormously successful, wasnt he . He was. He painted lots of aristocrats in different cities of europe. There is a story that when hes in constantinople, there is a particular model, very beautiful, who catches his eye. He draws her in various poses. This is one picture which is made from one of those drawings, and then thats a sort of source for later on, when he returns to europe, and with various clients, he can say, look, if you dress up in this, ive brought this as well, ive 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. Its 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 theres 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 theres glimmerings of that here. So fundamentally, orientalism is about the wests 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 wants to show me something that brings the world depicted within the painting to life. So what have you got here . This is a vr headset. So im becoming Osman Hamdi Bey for the day . Kind of. You visit his studio. Just put it on. Carefully put it on like that. And here are my hands. Ok, thats really quite weird. This is amazing. So this is his studio. Its wonderful seeing the actual room. I can walk around, can i . Youre going to tell me if im going to walk into a priceless work of art in a museum, right . Oh, heres the painting. Right. Ah im inside. I can hear some birds. Theres a tortoise. Ooh, look pick up the lettuce leaf and then he can eat it. And at this high point in my career as an art critic. I think maybe i should come back into the real world. Great. How are you . Well, im completely disorientated, and that was a lot of fun. It certainly got me in the right zone for considering the painting, but without any lettuce props, perhaps. Baris, this is a really imposing painting, which i think im right in saying comes from towards the end of osman hamdis life, right . Yes. Yes, exactly. Can you just tell me a bit more about the artist, because hes a really important figure here in turkey . Yes, he was important because he did lots of things in arts and culture. He was a museologist and he was the head of the first art school. He was an archaeologist and he wanted to become a painter. I guess The Big Picture idea is that he actually travels to paris and he encounters painting there including, of course, orientalist painting by european artists, which inspires him. And when he returns to turkey, he starts to make his own version of orientalism. Yes, we can say that even when he was in paris, people saw him as an oriental figure. So he was the best man to paint these subjects. So his calling card, if you like, was, if you want orientalist pictures, well, im an oriental man. Im the guy to do it. Yes. Lets talk about the actual picture itself. Whats going on . Theres this figure associated with music whos really contemplating a group of tortoises at his feet. Some people think that these tortoises are representing the bureaucracy, which is difficult to change, slowly changing bureaucracy of ottoman times. But this is painted for a european audience, and i dont expect they could understand the meaning. Thats interesting you say that, because ive certainly come across this interpretation where, if you look at the background, you can see all of this peeling off plaster. The brickwork is exposed. Quite clearly, there are cobwebs running up the interior of the arch, and lots of people have thought ah, painted 1906 the very final years of the ottoman empire. And theyve put all of these things together and given a sort of subversive political reading to this painting. But im sensing its not one that you buy. Chuckles no, i dont buy that. But i buy this. He wasnt a typical orientalist. I mean, orientalism liked idle figures doing nothing. But he painted people reading or making music. Whats really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey whos engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalism and somehow, what . Hes subtly transforming it, hes hes 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 course, orientalism, in the hands of Western Artists during the 19th century, wasnt just about politics and power. It was also about sex. To find out how the west viewed the women of the near east, im in turkeys largest city, istanbul. Looking at the collection of Orientalist Art here at the pera museum, ive discovered how the wests fascination with the east resulted in art that subtly and sometimes not so subtly asserted a sense of superiority. Im meeting istanbul based artist ardan ozmenoglu, whos inspired by orientalism. She wants to show me the works here that captivate her the most. Ardan, i think this is an unbelievably intriguing picture. In part, thats because of its date, which is very prominently painted in the top left hand corner. 1654. So this is a 17th century painting of an oriental scene. But one thing that strikes me immediately is that youve got these two bands to the painting. Do you have a sense how were meant to read it . Yeah. At the bottom part of it is welcoming scene. A guest is coming to the harem, and up side of the painting is more like what they do in the harem. At the corner, the painter wrote that Ottoman Ladies are not allowed to leave their houses. Thats why they invite friends to their homes, and they spend their time in their houses. I see. So i guess it stands at the start of this tradition where Western Artists have heard about the harem as this sort of forbidden realm, where Turkish Women Would well, this is an entertainment with guests, and it somehow has immediately fired the imagination, and its what they want to paint. Exactly, yeah. The allure of what went on Behind Closed Doors later stimulated a somewhat different vision of a female only space. By the 19th century, Western Artists were happily producing work for an audience eager to see their fantasies exposed. Until turkeys own orientalist osman hamdi had his say. He opted to depict women in his society in a more respectful, less voyeuristic fashion than the western painters hed learnt from. And hes something of a local hero. Theres a Novel Depiction Of Ottoman Women here. Theyre not passive objects for the pleasure theres a Novel Depiction Of Ottoman Women here. Theyre not passive objects for the pleasure of a western male viewers eye. Theyre women who are cultured, sophisticated. I think what we see on this painting is the light and the geometry as more Western Painting. But the inside belongs to here. Thats very interesting. If ive understood you correctly, its as if the form of the painting, the way it appears, is using a visual language which is very western. But the spirit that animates the picture, thats something different, something more authentic, if you like. I think its a great fusion between Western Painting and the concept of orientalism. He knows the textile. He knows the architecture. Theres this Rich Heritage there, and he just puts them together in a really fine way. It inspires me a lot. Im keen to see some of ardan� s work to discover how she put some of that inspiration to use. But first, she wants to give me a quick tour of another museum nearby to show me the kind of historical islamic artefacts that once inspired the orientalists, including osman hamdi. The museum of turkish and islamic arts, housed in a 16th century palace a stones throw from the famous blue mosque, was founded in 1914, thanks in part to who else . Osman hamdi. Today, it boasts the richest collection of islamic art in the world at least, thats what it says on its website including 1,700 carpets. Oh, this is a this is a holbein rug. This is a 16th century rug, which is now known as a holbein rug, what, because presumably rugs like this feature in the work of hans holbein . Yes and so, now theyre known by historians of carpets as holbein rugs is that it . Yeah. God, how fascinating. Let me see if we can pull up an image. This is, you know, in the national gallery, his huge painting, the ambassadors. Two westerners, and there in the middle is an islamic rug. Anyone who has looked at Historical Western Art will find all of these quite familiar, but in a very broad, generic fashion. Yes. Different centuries have different motifs and different colours and they all have an idea, they all want to say something. This looks like a hummingbird. I think so. Heres the beak. Yeah, and the flower. Yeah. But, of course, its also just an abstract geometric motif. And there is this tension, if you like, isnt there, in islamic art, when it comes to representing Living Things . Yeah, i think this abstraction comes out of it. You can say its a bird but you cannot be sure of it. And such a good example of repetition, right . Yeah. Thats the key to it, isnt it . Its also a sort of wonderful expression somehow of society because you have all of these individual units and they seem to all be working together to do something. So, theres this great feeling of interlocking animated togetherness. The museum is filled with so many wonderful objects, its tempting to linger beside them all. But ardan wants to show me something that, though easily missed, is inspirational for her. Down here . This . 0k. Yeah. Its a typical example of iznik tile. What is so typical about this . The tulips the red tulips and also the flower in the middle, you see . Yeah. Its called kara nfil. Its got a real intensity, doesnt it . Particularly with those flashes of red. Itjust gives it, like, this, everythings suddenly arriving. And i can imagine the whole pattern by having only the square. Of course, this is repeating and repeating. Yes. Over a huge space in a building. With Something Like this, are there parallels with your own work . There are many similarities not only the motif or the pattern, but also the repetition, where you see the whole as another pattern. But when you see in a small scale, like this one tile, is another thing. Now i really want to see some of ardan� s work to understand how she draws upon and adapts traditional islamic art, as well as that orientalist world view we encountered earlier. Luckily, shes invited me to her istanbul studio to show me something shesjust finished. 0k its beautiful im really intrigued by how this is created. Are these post it notes that youve, almost like a mosaic, you sort of tessellated them together to create the image . Exactly, yes. And you can see the whole image also fragmented as well. As we talked in the museum, i can imagine the whole from one. Its very tactile, partly because youve folded some of them over. Yeah. Each one is what, individually printed . I use them as a canvas, you know. Yes. And then, i print one time on the top of it. For each colour. Yes. Clearly, it has a really pop sensibility, responding to historical art. Who is this woman . Let me show you the original. It is known that the woman is the wife of osman hamdi. 0k yes we were looking at the two musician girls and its very respectful of those two women. This is a really powerful image of a powerful woman, right . He always draws women strong, powerfuland, of course, romantic, too. Its interesting because thats your interpretation of the painting. And this is also an interpretation of that painting, to make it live and breathe in a contemporary idiom. I havent really come across many images which are made out of composite post it notes. Its a great idea. Its very ephemeral. Post it notes are things that we just make jottings on and then perhaps discard, and youre using it to create a monumental picture and, actually, here playing on a very long historical tradition. I kind of love that tension. And also, the idea behind the post it notes is you always write the things that you shouldnt forget. And every time i paint on post it notes, i want to say that dont forget this painting, dont forget that image. The ideas behind the paintings should not be forgotten. I certainly wont forget my visit with ardan. And before i go, theresjust time for a memorable demo. Weve got some sticking to do. The post it covered surface is overlaid with a template of the image to be printed. Now for the fun part. Were going to press together. 0k. Dont push it so much. 0k. Make it so soft, ok . Are you ready to print . Im im ready. Not bad, huh . That isnt bad. Thats cool and look, look the Signature Ardan moments. I think thats rather wonderful. I like it. Yeah. Thank you so much for showing me all of that. Shall i tell you what i find quite surprising . Orientalism it feels like something that today people are so critical of but youre engaging with some orientalist paintings in a reallyjoyful way. Youre like, these are great paintings yeah, because as an artist, i believe my eye. Then, i found myself in the world of orientalist or the patterns or the tiles or the carpets as a piece of an artwork, as already so important as it is. Genuinely, youre sort of like, theres a respect for that tradition which you feel deeply. I do. I respect arts thats why, maybe, yeah. I love the playfulness of ardan� s work. Theres a real coming together of worlds here, of different layers her fascination with the repetition and abstraction of islamic art, the way she embraces and evolves that Vexed Orientalist world view by looking at it through the warholian lens of a pop art sensibility. All that, for me, really encapsulates what ive been discovering the complexity of the exchange between east and west. Before i came here, orientalism in my mind, at least was almost this dirty word that was synonymous somehow with western exploitation of the islamic world. What i hadnt realised, though, was the extent to which turkish artists, both historical and contemporary, have really engaged with that tradition reclaiming it, transforming it, making it their own. Spending time in istanbul has reminded me why museums like the pera matter, because the past isnt remote. Its always enmeshed with the present. It has been a very wetjuly so far. Some spots, particularly towards the north and west and across central southern england, have already seen One And A Half Times Thejuly Average of rainfall and we are only halfway through the month. There is a lot more month to go and a lot more rainfall, especially over the next couple of days. This is the rainfall accumulation chart. Some areas seeing up to 50 millimetres more. Very high rainfall totals. Things will stay unsettled. That deep area of low pressure which gave us the storms over the weekend, moving across scandinavia, Meaning Lightening Winds for many on monday but still a key north westerly blowing over much of scotland. Cloudy for much of scotland. Some showers developing here and there. There will be a good scattering of showers there will be a good scattering of showers across england, wales and Northern Ireland. Sunny spells in between, perhaps staying largely dry for South East England with temperatures highest here in the best of the sunshine, generally high teens to the low 20s. Around the seasonal average. On tuesday, another occlusion approaches and this will give us Heavy Downpours of rain, particularly across parts of west wales, Northern Ireland and north west england. Pushing eastwards throughout the day, good scattering of showers. Sunny start across scotland but more cloud and rain by the end of the day. 2a degrees may be in South West England and it should stay largely dry here. The winds will fall lighter once again. The Occlusion Moves into the north sea. Wednesday is not a bad looking day. Plenty of dry weather. We could see a bit of sea breeze convergence perhaps across North East England and eastern scotland. Elsewhere a few showers always possible but lots of dryness and sunshine and temperatures wont feel too bad either. Warm in the best of the sunshine, the low 20s for many. For thursday, more of a north westerly wind coming in, so we dip in temperature and be feeling cooler. Particularly towards the north and west where we will see most of the cloud. We could see some more showers pop up here and there as we go through the afternoon. Temperatures will be lower, rather disappointing for this point injuly. High teens, possibly low 20s again. Into friday, looking to the atlantic and other deep area of low pressure starting to push its way in. This could give us again some strong winds and Heavy Downpours of rain. Moving across Northern Ireland, through the morning, approaching north west england and western wales by the time we get to the end of the day, there will be more Cloud Spilling its way further eastwards. Temperatures disappointing for the time of year but some uncertainty still on the timing of this rain. Some of the models saying it will be moving through as we go through the weekend. The jet stream is dipping as we head through the end of the week. Always on the cooler side of the jet, this is where the intense heat wave is across Southern Europe, we wont see any of that hot air. Instead, low Pressure Systems will slip southwards and eastwards across the uk, just rotating around. Itll be wet and windy at times. In fact the outlook is still looking pretty unsettled. A lot more showers to come in the forecast. It wont be raining all the time but there will be longer spells of rain at times. There will be some sunshine, rather windy weather, but in the Sunshine It Isjuly so itll feel warm in the best of that. Goodbye for now. Live from london. You are watching bbc news. The headlines the actress and singer jane birkin has died at the age of 76. Frances president macron has described her as her a complete artist. Over 100 million americans are facing extreme temperatures as the us joins Southern Europe in the grip of a heatwave. 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