Bringing together the works of seven artists on a shared intellectual ground, the exhibition “7/7 – Seven Divided by Seven” is meeting art lovers at Artmahall Kabataş from July 7 to Sept. 7, 2026.
Curated by Derya Aydoğan, the exhibition brings together works by Lütfü Kaplanoğlu, Seval Yıldız Tekin, Alper Efe Gümüş, Melisa Uzun, Esra Doğa Ertaş, Ece Albayrak and Ildem Ünver, offering a conceptual encounter centered on the collective nature of contemporary life.
At the heart of the exhibition is the number seven, which has long been associated with completion, balance, cycles and harmony across different cultures. But rather than treating it simply as a symbol, the exhibition uses seven as a starting point to question what it means to exist as an individual within a larger collective.
The exhibition sees each artist’s practice as a different fiber within a shared fabric. Their distinct artistic practices and forms of expression come together to form a collective narrative, suggesting that encounters, connections and relationships can transform the whole. From this perspective, the “one” that emerges when seven is divided by seven becomes more than a mathematical result – it becomes a symbol of an existence built together.
The idea echoes English poet John Donne’s famous 1624 lines, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” Four centuries later, it remains more relevant than ever in a world shaped by digital networks, ecological crises, cultural circulation, migration and collective memory.
The exhibition takes its cue from this idea that human beings do not exist in isolation, but within a constantly evolving web of relationships, inviting viewers to reflect on a seemingly simple mathematical proposition: When we divide seven by seven, is what remains really just “one”?
The number seven itself carries a long history of symbolic meanings. Seven notes, seven colors, seven days and seven continents have all contributed to its associations with completeness and harmony in different cultural traditions.
“7/7 – Seven Divided by Seven” revisits these associations through the lens of contemporary life. The seven artists may have distinct practices and forms of expression, but their works are presented as interconnected layers of a shared idea.
This approach echoes anthropologist Tim Ingold’s understanding of the world not as a collection of separate objects, but as a network of relationships that are continuously woven together. It also recalls the metaphor of a tapestry formed by countless threads in different colors, discussed by Dolores Cannon in her book Between Death and Life.
Together, these ideas reinforce the exhibition’s central premise: Being “one” does not necessarily mean being alone or becoming uniform. Instead, it can mean creating a shared space of existence through difference, connection and diversity.
“7/7 – Seven Divided by Seven” can be visited at Artmahall Kabataş in Istanbul through Sept. 7.
