12 mosaics board dimensions variable 2023 Installation view at AVTO
The research-based mosaics are about the birds of the Upper Mesopotamia region. Situated in the apartment air shaft adjacent to the exhibition space, these panels feature twelve endangered bird species. They formally relate to mosaics found in the region’s archaeological sites, emphasizing the shared fate of regional biodiversity and submerged cultural heritage. The destruction of the basin poses a vital threat not only to humans but also to the bird species, endemic vegetation and agricultural lands that live in the same geography and use the region as a migration route. Through the representation of birds, I point to the loss of the memory of species diversity. I draw a formal parallel between political interventions and the loss of cultural heritage, as well as their ecological effects and the destruction of species diversity, to emphasize the common fate shared by the mosaics in the flooded archaeological sites in the region. The plant motifs used in the ornamentation around the depictions of the birds depict one of the endemic and edible laurel tree species in the region. The mosaics are accompanied by a printed series of biographies of the birds with their local names.
This project is supported by Sanatorium
