EXHIBITION

Antroposentrik Kirlilik

EXHIBITION
Antroposentrik Kirlilik

Özlem Vargün

Özlem Vargün graduated from MSU City and Regional Planning Undergraduate Program in 1990. She continued her master's degree in Plastic Arts Program at Yeditepe University in 2008. She completed her Proficiency in Art from Hacettepe Painting and she completed her doctorate at Yıldız Technical University Art and Design Program. She made productions in different fields of art such as painting, sculpture, photography, site-specific installations, and participated in workshops and exhibitions. She developed the Histourical AR mobile application, where she brought together cultural heritage and interface designs at Yıldız Technical University during her doctoral period. She worked as a lecturer at Samsun OMÜ, Medipol University GSTMF. Since 2018, she has been working as a Dr. Faculty Member at Yeni Yüzyıl University, Faculty of Communication, Head of Department Visual Communication Design.

Antroposentrik Kirlilik

What policies do we need to pursue to ensure the world remains habitable for us? Should we return to nature completely?

Should we wage war on rationality and technology? Or should we use technology to contribute to the development of humanity? Or in a system (the world), in which everything is interconnected according to the Gaia Hypothesis proposed by James Lovelock, should we wait for the ramifications of it activating its own defence mechanism (the pandemic)... 

Anthropocentric Pollution constitutes the main theme of the exhibition in its quest for answers to these questions. Anthropocentric thought, which involves the notions that “everything is for man” or “everything is meant for man”, has negative consequences on nature and on man himself. According to this line of thought, human beings are superior to all other living things and they are special. Anthropocentric Pollution is a lot more ubiquitous than one might think. This can be social as well as scientific. Environmental pollution, the extinction of plant and animal species are all results of anthropocentric pollution. Anthropocentricity is simply mankind’s self-admiration and his perception of himself to be superior to other creatures. Posthumanism wages war on this thought and aims beyond the human-centred era. So the aim is not the extinction of man; it is about putting an end to the anthropocentric perception and the superiority attributed to the humankind. In fact, Anthropocentric thought is a curious bias; it is a narcissistic sentiment. Today it has become an ideology, and racism and colonialism thrive on this pollution.

In any case, in this period of crisis, does the humankind still see itself to be anthropocentric? Or should we reconsider the Anthropocentric view, that is, Protogoras’ notion that “man is the measure of all things”? Should we be re-evaluating the designs, architecture, technology and science where the measure of all thing is absolutely the human being? Is everything in the universe subordinate to man? Where do we stand with regards to this divide? Do we have the courage to question ourselves? Are the things we know to be true, actually true? Are we going to have to re-examine our value judgements? How will the anthropocentric view evolve after artificial intelligence? Can artificial intelligence reshape nature? Can it shape the body? Should the body be abandoned? How should the body be reconstructed for the new world? If it is only information that is important in the information age, will there be no need for the body?

On the upper floor, in the “Anthropocentric Pollution” exhibition that is part of the broader exhibition of projects, titled “Intentions”, the artists explore the concept of anthropocentricity within the framework of existential problems. In the artworks that focus on the human being, the evolutionary questioning is presented dialectically, through both the helplessness and the anthropocentric nature of the human body. As you proceed through the exhibition, you come across spaces that humans inhabit and geological life forms that have undergone deformation as a result of anthropocentrism. In an effort to represent urban life, the exhibition is placed in a labyrinth. As a metaphor, the labyrinth is also a representation of chaos. In the exhibition, the viewer could come across the Minotaur or surrender to artificial intelligence by diving into the realm of algorithms. Biocentrism, on the other hand, is a line of thought that places the living thing and the environment at the centre. It is an ethical perspective that embraces the principle that all life deserves equal moral consideration and has an equal moral standing. It cares about environmental ethics and respects life and living things.

In the activity, titled “Biocentric Creation”, the audience is centred on living things. Here, the viewer is regarded to be a part of the environment and is invited to create his/her own world. Humans, by nature, have an impulse of shaping and improving the environment. The designs in this virtual world belong to a different reality and have no negative impact on the environment. The designs that the viewer is invited to build by using the Tilt Brush program, VR virtual glasses and Touch Controllers, are displayed and shared. Perhaps in the future, as we build our own worlds with our avatars and endless materials in the virtual realms of VR and AR, we would be able to construct worlds that do no harm to the environment, that respect nature and are in harmony with the environment. We will be able to construct our hundred-storey buildings without depleting any resources. Who knows?

Artists & Works

CARNOVSKY

Red Green Blue (RGB)

Installation

Digital Printing

2010

LUC MERX

Opposite, Fall of The Damned

Lighting Element

Industrial Production

2006

PINAR YOLDAŞ

Carboniferous

Installation

Speculative Biology

2014

BAGER AKBAY

Deniz Yılmaz

Installation

Artificial intelligence; Software and Installation

2014

TILT BRUSH – VR GÖZLÜK

Experience Area

 Generating a Three-Dimensional Drawing

2021

Follow Us
TR EN
Filter events by label
FilmWorkshopKidTheater
16 DEC MON
1

20:00

Seminar An Alternative View on Art and Children

Online Platform – Zoom

17 DEC TUE
2

19:00

Film Alice In The Cities

Akbank Sanat

20:00

Seminar An Alternative View on Art and Children

Online Platform – Zoom

18 DEC WED
3

17:30

Workshop Creative Paper Workshop: Christmas Tree

Akbank Sanat

18:30

Conversation Bullying

Akbank Sanat

20:00

Seminar An Alternative View on Art and Children

Online Platform – Zoom

19 DEC THU
3

17:30

Workshop Creative Paper Workshop: Christmas Ornament

Akbank Sanat

19:30

Conversation Adaptive Re-use in Architecture

Akbank Sanat

20:00

Seminar An Alternative View on Art and Children

Online Platform – Zoom

20 DEC FRI
-
21 DEC SAT
5

12:00

Kid A City: The Journey of Lost Voices (Ages 5-9)

Akbank Sanat

13:30

Kid Istanbul in My Library: Book Nook Workshop (Ages 5-9)

Akbank Sanat

15:00

Workshop Three Fundamental Treasures - I

Akbank Sanat

15:30

Workshop Mouth Trash

Akbank Sanat

16:00

Workshop Alphabet Experimental Photography Workshop (December - Group 1)

Akbank Sanat

22 DEC SUN
1

16:00

Workshop Alphabet Experimental Photography Workshop (December - Group 2)

Akbank Sanat

23 DEC MON
-
24 DEC TUE
1

19:00

Film Yesterday Girl

Akbank Sanat

25 DEC WED
-
26 DEC THU
-
27 DEC FRI
1

16:00

Workshop Alphabet Experimental Photography Workshop (December - Group 1)

Akbank Sanat

28 DEC SAT
6

12:00

Workshop Alphabet Experimental Photography Workshop (December - Group 2)

Akbank Sanat

13:00

Kid Akbank Children’s Theatre"What Am I Going To Be?"

Akbank Sanat

15:00

Workshop POSTPONED - What is the Function of Dramaturgy?

Akbank Sanat

15:30

Kid Tracing Migratory Birds: Birdhouse Design Workshop (Ages 6-10)

Akbank Sanat

17:15

Kid Clay Sculptures: New Year’s Excitement (Ages 6-11)

Akbank Sanat

18:30

Workshop Clay Sculptures: New Year’s Excitement

Akbank Sanat

29 DEC SUN
-
30 DEC MON
-
31 DEC TUE
-
01 JAN WED
-
02 JAN THU
1

18:00

Seminar Strategic Planning & Project Development - I

Online Platform – Zoom

03 JAN FRI
-
04 JAN SAT
2

16:00

Kid Family Upcycling: Mosaic Workshop (Ages 4-8)

Akbank Sanat

17:15

Kid Family Upcycling: Sculpture Workshop (Ages 4-8)

Akbank Sanat

05 JAN SUN
-

Add event to your calendar

Subscribe to Newsletter