In Conversation: Ali Taptık and Aslıhan Demirtaş
Thursday, October 8, 2015, 6.30pm, collectorspace
In conjunction with the exhibition The Lookout from the Kadist Collection, collectorspace hosts a conversation between Aslıhan DemirtaÅŸ and Ali Taptık—two practitioners who pursue artistic and academic research while collaborating in urban farming initiatives in Istanbul. DemirtaÅŸ and Taptık will depart from Jean-Luc Moulène’s The Lookout (extrait 6) (2004–2011) and explore its relation to street photography, spontaneous vegetation in urban areas, as well as the ideas of resistance, resilience and hope.
La Vigie (extrait 6) is part of Jean-Luc Moulène’s photographic essay about a princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa) that keeps sprouting in the cracked sidewalk across from the Ministry for the Economy, Industry, and Employment in Paris. The princess tree—the observer and the observed in this series—is known for its adaptability, fast growth, and invasive qualities; its ability to sprout prolifically from adventitious buds on stems and roots allows it to survive fire, cutting, and even bulldozing. It is this resilient tree that bears witness to the daily events that take place in this popular spot for public protests in front of the Ministry also referred to as ‘Bercy Fortress.’ La Vigie (extrait 6) presents eight pairs of images from the entire series of 299 photographs that document the state of the tree (usually the early phases of the sprout, full of potential for change and long-term resistance—a recurrent theme in Moulène’s practice) as well as the view from the sprout’s perspective on a particular day during a seven year time span.
The event is free and open to all. The talk will be held in Turkish.
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Aslıhan Demirtaş is an architect. She is the founder of Aslihan Demirtas Design and Research Studio, based in Istanbul and New York.
Ali Taptık is an artist, photographer and architect. He is currently a PhD candidate in Architectural Design at Istanbul Technical University.
Image courtesy of the artist and Kadist Art Foundation.
This post is also available in: Turkish