Little Details in the Big Picture

As we envy the architectural masterpieces in Europe, how many of us are aware of the fact that what’s important is not only to admire but also to preserve? Hasan Pehlevan certainly knows about this. His work “Formicarium” portrays the cycle we experience in our daily lives, sometimes involuntarily. If you turn your head around to look at the mountains and rocks that surround us, we’re not that different from a pile of concrete stuck between the old and the new; it’d lose its identity if renovated, and would break down if neglected. Though Formicarium was inspired by the district of Fikirtepe in Istanbul, it actually displays a reality we all live in.

What needs to be emphasized here is the etymology of the word – formi (ant) and carium (living space). We live like ants in this cycle among the changing and torn-down buildings and heritages or the construction equipment in between. Visiting his exhibition, we also find ourselves in that wreckage.

If art is a way to make your voice heard and one of the most powerful ways to express yourself, then we’ll see if this wreckage can be saved at Pg Art Gallery between November 18 and December 15.