Border crossings

Hosted in Antwerp’s docklands, the multimedia exhibition examines how the interactions that take place at ports and waterways have influenced the development of Istanbul and Antwerp as diverse global cities.

‘We began by asking the question: ‘What does a port mean for a city?’’ Tabanlıoglu tells LS:N Global. ‘It was very important for me to engage young artists in this discussion.’

Experimental artistic processes from 14 emerging Turkish artists are used to convey cross-cultural exchanges and modes of communication influenced by ports. Planner Sections by Emre Dörter and Elif Simge Fettahoglu is a series of striking aerial films of ships shot with drones, while Bridge by Dörter features two screens facing each other that play 10-second video portraits of people from Antwerp and Istanbul who appear to gaze at each other.

The scenographic design leads the visitor down a central passageway, the silhouette of which evokes the shoreline of Istanbul. Contrasting historical artefacts are displayed outside the tunnel, conveying an interplay with time.

The scale and narrative of the installations reflect the architectural nature of the curatorial team. ‘Normally, architects are not curators’, says Tabanlıoglu. ‘In the future, I think we will see more architects in this role.’