“Always Here", one of the opening exhibitions of Istanbul Modern's new building, brought together the works of the female artist that the museum included in its collection with the support of the Women Artists Fund. Hera Buyuktasciyan gave new life to the broken ceramics she acquired from many different cities in her work titled "A Study on the Endless Archipelago", which was included in the exhibition.
“Always Here” presented a selection of works from the museum collection acquired by the Women Artists Fund, established by Istanbul Modern in 2016 to support the production of women artists in Turkey, increase public awareness of their work, and strengthen their representation. The title, “Always Here,” was a reference to feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s seminal essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?,” published in Artnews in 1971.
“Always Here” shared the strong voices of women artists who, because of their century-long struggle recorded in Turkey, have expanded their political, cultural and social space and produced commentary on current issues. The exhibition, curated by Oyku Ozsoy Sagnak, included works by Mehtap Baydu, Hera Buyuktasciyan, Inci Eviner, Selma Gurbuz, Nilbar Gures, Sibel Horada, Bengu Karaduman, Zeynep Kayan, Ayca Telgeren, Gunes Terkol, Burcu Yagcioglu.
In her work titled “A Study on Endless Archipelagos,” Hera Buyukktasciyan, whose artworks are included in the exhibition, fuses fragments of ceramics and architectural elements from walls originating in the various cities. The artist starts with tile fragments collected in the Church of Saint Spyridon on her home island of Heybeliada. She then expands her research process to include ruined and abandoned architectural elements from diverse geographies. The artist adds human feet cast in bronze to carry these broken pieces from distant times and places. Over four distinct platforms, Hera Buyukktasciyan collects these objects in compositions consisting of isles and archipelagos. Each one silently bearing a deep history, these objects are given a new life by the artist to free them from the period they are stuck in and take them on a new journey.
