Young artists are breathing new life into traditional Turkish art, transforming it into a reflection of the current zeitgeist. At first glance, the exhibition "Here 2025: A World Unmade" might seem like a typical showcase of young artists grappling with angst and dystopia. However, upon closer inspection, a more profound and unexpected narrative emerges. Artists are using traditional media such as miniatures, tiles, carpets, and tapestries, which are often associated with calm, order, and ceremonial formality, to convey environmental anxiety, social miscommunication, and the challenges of modern life. Curated by Nil Nuhoglu, the exhibition is hosted at the Offgrid Art Project in Istanbul's Beyoglu district, and it showcases the work of "Here," an initiative launched in 2023 by students and recent graduates of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. What began as an informal gathering has evolved into a movement aimed at bringing traditional Turkish techniques into the present and breaking free from the "gilded cage of nostalgia."
Cagri Dizdar, a miniaturist, emphasizes the need to move beyond romanticization, Orientalization, and old forms in traditional Turkish arts. He compares it to asking contemporary painters to work in the style of the Renaissance, which is impractical. Similarly, miniaturists and tile-makers should not be expected to adhere to outdated styles. Dizdar's work, "Nobodies," is a powerful example of this shift. It features hollowed-out heads and figures reminiscent of T.S. Eliot's "Hollow Men," symbolizing a world where people talk past each other in moments of disaster.
The exhibition's theme of dystopia is not merely a reaction to sudden disasters but rather a slow, almost imperceptible collapse. It emerges where instability disguises itself as progress and where the familiar begins to crack. Zeynep Akman's works, including a miniature page and a ferman (royal edict) with tiny mosquitoes replacing letters, visually represent authority as irritation. Dilara Altinkepce Arslan's griffin, a 21st-century guardian, further exemplifies this concept, symbolizing drought, radiation-proof resilience, relentless consumption, willful ignorance, and displaced humanity. The griffin's wings display video clips of both idyllic nature and post-apocalyptic dystopia, highlighting the uneasy balance between these contrasting worlds.
Azra Celik takes a different approach by incorporating QR codes into traditional Iznik-tile motifs. When scanned, the scene transforms, revealing a darker reality. This technique challenges the viewer to question their perceptions. The exhibition also showcases the work of artists like Gazi Sansoy and Murat Palta, who merge traditional miniature language with pop-art distortion and Ottoman miniature conventions with global pop-culture mythology. Elif Uras explores gender roles through ceramics, pushing the medium into new conversations.
Despite the emergence of this innovative wave, structural barriers persist. Miniaturists, tile-makers, and book-arts practitioners often remain on the periphery of group shows and fairs dominated by painting, sculpture, and photography. Dizdar notes that modernists distance themselves from traditional arts, and traditionalists criticize distortions. Burcu Pelvanoglu, a professor of art history, suggests that the binary between traditional and modern is artificial, and the question lies in whether the work is creative and authentic.
There are signs of progress, however. Platforms like BASE, one of Turkey's largest for young artists, have increasingly included ceramics, glass, and traditional-arts practices in their exhibitions. Kale, a tile-and-ceramics company, has supported an experimental clay and mixed-media exhibition addressing climate stress, urban precarity, and social fragmentation. These partnerships indicate a broader shift, where contemporary art spaces and collectors are becoming more open to new forms of expression.
Nuhoglu believes that the market must also adapt. She advocates for courageous galleries and buyers who are open to the new, encouraging collectors to look beyond familiar names and styles. While the broader ecosystem's readiness remains uncertain, the alignment of courage and tradition in Beyoglu offers a glimpse of potential change.
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