CUPOLA CONSTRUCTION

How and where you live affects you. Private memories, collective memories, symbolic memories. Emir has a story to tell. On his fourth birthday, when the cake was done, everything changed. The ground began to shake. His family lost everything they had in the great earthquake of 1998. During two years they had to live in a tent. It’s hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced it yourself. After that the family moved to Kadırga where they have lived ever since. In the vicinity of his home is the historic Hagia Sophia, with its famous dome. In the past, the nomads built dome-like tents to pray in, to protect from sun and wind. Rolled them up in piles of cloth and moved on.

The sculpture was made in the project Record Construct of Local A. 2010 and exhibited in in Kartal and Küçükçekmece.

Sculpture 4m x 2,5m, fabric and aluminium.

Record Construct was a collaboration between Local A. and Istanbul 2010 Cultural Capital of Europe. Two developing art works by Jenny Berntsson and Felice Hapetzeder together with youths living in Istanbul constitute the base for the project. Record Construct was supported by the Portable art section of Istanbul 2010 Cultural Capital of Europe, the Swedish Institute, Consulate General of Sweden Istanbul, Iaspis, STEP beyond mobility fund, European Cultural Foundation and Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse.