Ceren Yıldırım
Ceren Fitnat Yıldırım was born in Ankara in 1989. After graduating from TED Ankara College, she completed her undergraduate studies in Architecture at Yıldız Technical University, during which she also participated in a one-year exchange program at Valencia Polytechnic University. Following her graduation, she lived in the South Aegean region for a period, where she focused on integrating nature-inspired, ecological materials into her design approach, combined with contemporary technological production methods. To further develop these interests, she pursued a one-year master’s program at the Barcelona Institute for Advanced Architecture (IAAC).
During her time abroad, she attended short-term training programs at the construction sites of ecological building organizations such as Earthship Biotecture and Cal Earth. Upon her return to Turkey, she contributed to various natural building projects in permaculture and holistic farming initiatives, initially as a volunteer and later as a team member.
Her passion for art and design deepened through her exploration of drawing, glass, and ceramics, leading her to establish her own brand, Fitnat. During the pandemic, she completed a Master’s program in Museology and Art History at Başkent University. Her thesis, titled "The Past and Present of Unfired Earth as an Ecological Material in Art and Architecture," investigated the potentials and future of raw earth materials in the contexts of art, architecture, and new technologies. As part of her research, she engaged with individuals, groups, and collectives working on this subject to develop a comprehensive perspective.
In 2021, she co-founded Poçolana Works with two colleagues, a collective focusing on earth architecture and earth plaster painting. In 2023, as a member of Poçolana Works, she collaborated with Herkes İçin Mimarlık Derneği (Architecture for All Association) on the Süperkerpiç Children's Library Project, a volunteer-based initiative in Kahramanmaraş that involved the collective efforts of numerous participants. She served as one of the project coordinators.
During her Master’s program in Museology, she applied to the Contemporary Art and Curatorship Program, organized in collaboration with Open Dialogue Istanbul and Akbank Sanat, with the idea of transforming her thesis into an exhibition. She graduated from this program with her exhibition project titled “My Body is the Earth.”
Since 2023, she has been teaching Basic Design courses as a part-time lecturer in the Interior Architecture Department at Başkent University, and since 2024, at TED University. Alongside her academic role, she continues to collaborate with Poçolana Works and the Architecture for All Association while pursuing her personal research in the field of museology.
The Earth is My Body
The exhibition The Earth is My Body establishes a space for exploration and inquiry, investigating the impact of aesthetic interventions on the environment through works that examine the interrelationship between humans and nature.
"The Valley People left no trace behind them. They held the valley in their hands, gently, as if caressing it. Even their steps were soft..."
-Ursula K. Le Guin, Always Coming Home
The exhibition The Earth is My Body establishes a space for exploration and inquiry, investigating the impact of aesthetic interventions on the environment through works that examine the interrelationship between humans and nature. By prioritizing an active engagement with ecological narratives that leave imprints on the spirit, the exhibition aims to create new meanings by drawing on the transformative power of ancient, local, and natural knowledge.
Through this exploration, we seek to reexamine our art and spaces on a microcosmic level, while also opening new avenues for knowledge production and discussion regarding potential transformations on a macrocosmic scale. The selected works serve as reminders that, for humanity—perceiving the earth both as a cultural phenomenon and as a physical entity—nature is, above all, a cocoon for the body, while the structures we leave behind and artistic creations function as extensions of our corporeal existence.
Art, by celebrating the beauty of nature and revealing both its resilience and fragility, can inspire individuals to embrace and protect their surroundings. It is not merely an act of making but a creative process that fosters the construction of new worlds. Each act of perceiving the world imbues it with meaning, allowing us to construct new realities in our minds, through which we recognize ourselves. The tendency to view nature as something separate from ourselves has led to a cycle of alienation with profound consequences. However, critically analyzing the meanings embedded within our relationship with nature may enable us to establish alternative modes of interaction. While nature engages in a dialogue with us through the beauty of its forms, we reciprocate by imbuing it with cultural significance. Through aesthetic contemplation, we can directly experience nature and break free from this cycle of estrangement.
Discussing architecture as an embodiment of human nature and the dissolution of boundaries between humans and their built environments, Johann Georg Sulzer stated, "The master builder must respect nature, which is the true school. Every structured body is a building." Architecture, as a multisensory discipline, generates profound meanings concerning the earth and existence, while ecology examines the intricate and ever-evolving relationships among living beings. A dynamic aesthetic resembles an ecological system, and architecture attains greater semantic depth when it harmonizes with this evolving aesthetic and its materials. Spaces that are shaped by the spirit, characteristics, and materials of their location reinforce this harmony, transforming structures from self-contained, finite objects into living bodies that continuously reshape their environments through intricate interactions. The fundamental principle is to ensure that each moment and space accommodates all living beings, perceiving architecture and the environment not merely as material objects but as experiential entities. By doing so, we can recognize the earth and its structures as extensions of our own bodies.
This exhibition unfolds as a journey, tracing the unspoiled presence of nature, our aesthetic engagements with it, the marks we leave behind, and, ultimately, the evolving relationship between the body and the earth. By bringing together artists who approach environmental ethics and aesthetics with sensitivity—who reflect on ecological concerns while developing creative and inspiring solutions using local resources and materials—we seek to foster awareness of environmental perception. We invite individuals committed to redefining our relationship with the environment to share their thoughts, journeys, and artistic practices.
References:
Le Guin, U.K. (2019). Always Coming Home. (C. Yardımcı, Trans.). Istanbul: Ayrıntı Publishing. (Original work published in 1998).
Erzen, J.N. (2019). Three Habitus: Earth, City, Structure (3rd ed.). Istanbul: YKY Publishing. Jale Erzen’s reflections on ecology and aesthetics in this book have been an inspirational source for this project.
Aesthetics in Ecology. Retrieved from https://www.yapibiyolojisi.org/ekolojide-estetik/