Public recreation (2014)

Photographs, archival pigment print, varying dimensions

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This is a series of photographs taken in various vacation and leisure spots in Turkey developed in the 1970s and 80s. The central theme is a recreational resort for government employees and their families. Built in the 70s along a sand beach on the Aegean coast, it is composed of rows of bungalows and eating, dancing, sports and beach facilities. In 2014 it was still in use, but in danger of becoming privatized like many similar resorts that have been sold to be redeveloped as profitable touristic venues. Alongside these photographs  an article from a real estate website asserting the economic inefficiency of these ‘building dumps’ was exhibited. We know that a similar argument is made against everything that is not profitable and that over-sized, non-contextual architecture will probably replace what we see in the photographs. This work is about holding on to ideas such as presenting everybody with the possibility of an affordable vacation, as well as building structures that do not harm the environment for this purpose.

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The work was shown in the exhibition "Summer Resort for a Song" curated by Borga Kantürk and hosted by DEPO Istanbul.