Material: Water

Contemporary Art and Ecological Experiments (Production Workshop for Artists)

"Material: Water"

Executive Artists: Anı Ekin Özdemir & Seda Gecü

Date: February 19 - 22, 2025

Time: 19:00 - 21:00

Thinking with water also involves re-establishing numerous relationships. What we often perceive as separate or distinct, marked by sharp boundaries, can actually be interconnected. By embracing its cyclicality and fluidity, water reveals alternative approaches and hidden relationships that we may overlook or remain unaware of. In this workshop, we will examine the ecological, ethical, personal, and social dimensions of water, inspired by this element that shapes, connects, divides, challenges, and sustains us.

From pollution to deep-sea mining, from dams and mining projects to illegal and uncontrolled fishing, our ecosystem and the body we inhabit are undergoing rapid changes for various reasons. Through artistic research and storytelling, we will explore new narratives, perspectives, contradictions, and depths around water in this workshop, encountering alternatives to the perception of water merely as a resource. In short, we will approach water from a non-human-centered perspective and reconsider our relationship with it.

Anı Ekin Özdemir (b. 1997, İstanbul) is an artist working primarily with photography, poetry, artistic and experimental writing, book-form, and printmaking. Her practice and research are situated in critical feminist and posthumanist theory. Through embodied investigations and poetic encounters, her work and research conflate various conversations around water: vulnerability, gender, speciesism, anthropomorphism, eroticism.

Seda Gecü (b. 1988, Istanbul) studied architecture at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and completed a master’s degree in Architectural Design at Bilgi University. In 2019, she participated in the Mamut Art Project. In 2024, she took part in the Akbank 42nd Contemporary Artists Prize Exhibition; the same year, her work Jelly, Reservoir, and Joint was showcased at 400X118. She has also participated in the Project Space Festival (2019), Step Istanbul (2020), Ashkal Alwan Home Workspace Program (2021), and Border-less Art Book Days (2021). She has led workshops at various universities. 

Her practice lies at the intersection of art, architecture, and research. She is interested in non-human geographies and new materialism, creating works across various visual mediums, including drawing, installation, photography, and text. Since 2020, she has been working on her doctoral thesis, which is currently in the writing phase.

* This workshop is designed for participants interested in water and water-related production practices. During the four-day workshop, participants are expected to attend regularly. The workshop is limited to a capacity of 12 participants and participation is free of charge.

* To join the program, you can submit your application by clicking the “Register” button on the page. Registrations will open 5 days prior to the first event date (on February 14, 2025, at 19:00), and the “Register” button will be accessible from that time onward. In the pre-registration phase, participants are required to include a short text in the message field summarizing their creative practices and motivation for joining the workshop. Applications will be reviewed to ensure a balanced participant profile, and invitations will be sent to selected candidates.

Workshop Program

- 19.02.2025 Wednesday / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Production and Materials (Online)

In the workshop, the artists will discuss their personal practices and their relationship with the material and we will explore their experiences and processes while closely examining their forms of expression. Additionally, Anı and Seda will share a brief reading and film list, discussing their recent inspirations, research, and the questions they have been contemplating. The session will conclude with a Q&A and a reading suggestion for the following day.

- 20.02.2025 Thursday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Concept and Production Process for Participants (Online)

After gaining an overview of the materials that participants are generally interested in, we will have a session where we will discuss their reasons for participating in this workshop and the connection they intend to establish with water through short presentations.

In addition to discussing their own work, the participants will also share insights on artists, exhibitions, approaches, and questions they have recently focused on in relation to water. The session will conclude with a talk and discussion on the reading selected on the first day.

- 21.02.2025 Friday / 19:00 - 21:00 / Material Possibilities (Online)

We will discuss how artists from different disciplines use the material in innovative and sustainable ways, and examine the role of water as a form of artistic and political expression through examples. After a short break, we will conclude the session by watching a documentary or film related to our topic, as determined by the facilitators.

- 22.02.2025 Saturday / 19:00 - 21:00 / On Exhibition Practices (Online)

After a brief discussion on the film, we will conclude the workshop with a session where we come together to explore the exhibition practices and presentation techniques of the works participants have created in relation to water, or the works/research ideas they intend to produce.