ART CITIES:Istanbul-Till It’s Gone

Following the Climate Conference held in Paris in December 2015, Istanbul Modern welcomes 2016 with an exhibition that honors nature and focuses on environmental awareness, “TILL IT’S GONE”, brings together artists who who undertake conceptual research on nature and focus on ecological issues in their practices. They offer diverse insights pertaining to humanity’s interactions with the ecosystem.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Archive

The exhibition “TILL IT’S GONE: An Exhibition on Nature and Sustainability”, presents works by artists who undertake conceptual research on nature and focus on ecological issues in their practices. The artists are from different geographies and generations, and have deep and complex relationships with the concept of sustainability. They offer diverse insights pertaining to humanity’s interactions with the ecosystem. The exhibition is the point where social sustainability meets nature, which itself is a fundamental part of sustainability. The title of the exhibition is borrowed from the lyrics of “Big Yellow Taxi”, a song by the singer-songwriter and visual artist Joni Mitchell. The song is known for its environmental concern: “Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now” – and “They took all the trees, and put them in a tree museum / And charged the people a dollar and a half just to see them”, and emphasizes the simple fact about the environment: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. Ranging from diverse periods from the 19th Century to the present, the works in the exhibition reflect their artists’ perception of nature and relationship with the concept of sustainability, offering interpretations of and inventive proposals for interactions between human beings and the ecosystem, and plants and animals in particular. Some of the works suggest the impossibility of solving major ecological issues, while others make proposals for safeguarding the ecosystem and the survival of humankind in harmony with it. A considerable number of the artists use nature itself as the medium for their production. The key visual of the exhibition is a watercolor by the artist Maro Michalakakos, executed in a style that echoes 19th Century sientific representations of birds. It shows a flamingo that has knotted its neck around its own leg, a metaphor for the destruction that we humans inflict upon our planet and ourselves. The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and moving images by twenty artists and art collectives: Roger Ackling, Bas Jan Ader, Alper Aydın, Bingyi, Jasmin Blasco and Pico Studio, Charles A. A. Dellschau, Elmas Deniz, Mark Dion, Hamish Fulton, Rodney Graham, ikonoTV “Art Speaks Out”, Lars Jan, Mario Merz, Maro Michalakakos, Joni Mitchell, Yoko Ono, Camila Rocha, Canan Tolon, Francesco Garnier Valletti, and Pae White. The curators believe that special attention should be given to artists who have brought the issue to a cultural and social turning point through the subtle interpretations they offer, therefore they dedicate the  exhibition to the generation of 1968 and to all artists who bring new perspectives to bear on environmental problems.

Info: Curators: Çelenk Bafra and Paolo Colombo, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Meclis-i Mebusan Cad., Liman Isletmeleri Sahasi Antrepo 4, Karakoy, Istanbul, Duration: 13/1-5/6/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.istanbulmodern.org