A solo exhibition by Turkish artist A. Yusuf Aygeç exploring exile, memory and resistance in the aftermath of Israel’s attacks on Gaza will open in London in January, P21 Gallery announced.
The gallery will present Posters to the Olive Tree of Exile, a solo exhibition by Turkish artist A. Yusuf Aygeç, from Jan. 16 to Jan. 30, 2026, with an opening night scheduled for Jan. 15.
Curated by Samed Karagöz, the exhibition examines the role of art as a form of witnessing and remembrance amid Israel's destruction and displacement in Gaza since October 2023, events widely described by international human rights organizations as genocidal in nature.
Aygeç’s drawings focus on displacement, loss, mourning and resistance, conveyed through a restrained visual language rather than explicit depictions of violence. The works aim to reflect the emotional and psychological impact of rupture on both individual and collective memory.
Each drawing is conceived as a letter addressed to the olive tree, a long-standing symbol of endurance and resistance in the histories of the Mediterranean and Palestine. The conceptual framework is reinforced by accompanying texts throughout the exhibition.
Rather than recreating scenes of destruction, the works function as what the gallery describes as a visual archive against erasure, emphasizing remembrance in the face of what it calls politically enforced forgetting. Several pieces reference verses by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, whose words echo throughout the exhibition as a recurring thread of memory.
Aygeç, born in Istanbul in 1989, is a graduate of Marmara University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. His work centers on themes of memory, space and identity. He has previously held solo exhibitions in Istanbul and participated in international art events, including Contemporary Istanbul and Christie’s Dubai.
Curator Samed Karagöz is a writer and television producer whose work focuses on exile, resistance and contemporary political aesthetics.
P21 Gallery is located at 21 Chalton St., London NW1.
