The Pendik Municipality is presenting the "Migration Exhibition with Contemporary Works" exhibition at Mehmet Akif Ersoy Art Center, with pieces by Mustafa Odabaşı, Ayşegül Ekin Odabaşı and Akif Naçakçı, who present the anxiety and motives associated with migration in photographs and paintings. The exhibition is open until Tuesday, Oct. 31
Mustafa Odabaşı explained: "Many people have to migrate because of many reasons nowadays. This situation brings about many problems. The biggest problem might be the violation of human rights. The loneliness of women, children and old people who have lost their family members, their survival, even if they are in need of care, their being exploited in different regions and many psychological pressures can turn into traumas that will never be healed. I tried to focus on this fire of restarting despite the loneliness in my work. We should focus on the humanity of migrants instead of separating them as qualified/unqualified or educated/uneducated. We should consider that they all have losses or there is a possibility that their resistance had been taken from them. Who can guarantee that we won't be taken away from our homeland?"
Focusing on how the migrants' memories turn into pain, Ayşegül Ekin Odabaşı said: "If there is a pain heavier than being taken away from your homeland, it is being taken from your dreams. Darkness sometimes chokes us, and we think we won't be able to see the light again. The only enemy in these times is the hopelessness haunting us. I have tried to depict that disappearance leaves something behind no matter what happens and reflect how roots and memories turn into a pain in the three-part series for which I was inspired by the moment the night is the darkest. Maybe we can construct a new hope out of common deprivations. Red flowers blossom on brown branches, don't they?"
Nacakçı focuses on migrants' trauma and depression. "Art is actually an important way to express oneself for refugees. Every branch of art is a step to define past traumas about which it is impossible to talk and to reconcile them with empathy. Most refugees live under mental pressure and can't focus even on their simplest duties. Some suffer from anxiety and depression that turn into self-destruction and suicide. In addition, many people in custody are traumatized after they witness the suicide or self-destruction of other migrants living in different centers. Furthermore, the idea of being sent back to their former country and the possibility of their family members' being in danger adds to this psychological state. Starting from this point, I tried to handle the migration problem with some approaches depicting traumatic inner worlds, loneliness and depression," Nacakçı said.
