In Pursuit of the Present

In its collection exhibition "In Pursuit of the Present", Istanbul Modern focused on human conditions in today’s world. The exhibition featured works that explore the relationship between humans and cities, nature, and between their own selves and their physical environment in historical, social and personal contexts. Moreover, the exhibition held a mirror to how human emotions are influenced by the new visual and aural stimuli that have emerged in the world today.

“In Pursuit of the Present” established various intersecting and interrelating thematic strands, and, through the works in the exhibition, branches off into side paths such as identity, the body, gender politics, processes of construction and destruction, and the relationship between nature and humans. Dealing with the city and its architecture, which are conceived by humans to create ideal living spaces, the exhibition explored their intricate relationship with city-dwellers while at the same time drawing attention to the possible consequences of the drive to build and dominate by violating the boundaries of natural life. It also pointed out to how the taming and domestication of nature brings about destruction, and to the consequences of destroying the social heritage handed down through generations. While important axis of the exhibition covered humans’ relationship with the depths of the unconscious, their turning to themselves and their quest for the self as they struggle to cope with the destructive dimensions of the different changes that are occurring, “In Pursuit of the Present” also featured works that explore the multiple dimensions of gender roles and women’s issues.

Curators: Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, Deniz Pehlivaner, Ümit Mesci

Artists:

Murat Akagündüz, Rasim Aksan, Alaettin Aksoy, Deniz Aktaş, Peter Anders, Mehtap Baydu, Ramazan Bayrakoğlu, Sabri Berkel, Taner Ceylan, Adnan Çoker, Burhan Doğançay, İpek Duben, Olafur Eliasson, İnci Eviner, Mehmet Güleryüz, Balkan Naci İslimyeli, Hüsamettin Koçan, Azade Köker, Maro Michalakakos, Sarah Morris, Hans Op de Beeck, Angel Otero, Kemal Önsoy, İrfan Önürmen, Necla Rüzgar, Sarkis, Güneş Terkol, Canan Tolon, TUNCA, Ömer Uluç, Zhan Wang, Nil Yalter, Jérôme Zonder.

Click to begin the virtual tour of "In Pursuit of the Present".