Istanbul Modern hosts Ali Kazma's personal exhibition titled "Landscapes of the Mind".The exhibition, sponsored by ON Digital Banking, the digital banking brand of Burgan Bank, which has been supporting the photography exhibitions in the new building of the museum since the first day, brings together the artist's video and photography works on books, libraries, literature and writing culture since the 2010s.
In the exhibition, which includes Ali Kazma's works produced in different geographies, the artist's video work titled "Sumi" (2025), which documents six centuries of traditional ink making in Nara, Japan, is shown for the first time at Istanbul Modern.
Author Orhan Pamuk's works "The Ink House" (2023) and "Sentimental" (2022), which focus on personal archives and living spaces, and Argentinian writer and book historian Alberto Manguel's "Alberto in Lisbon" (2024), which is about the process of moving his library from France to Portugal, are among the works that meet the audience for the first time in Turkey.
Curated by Öykü Özsoy Sağnak and Demet Yıldız Dinçer and assistant curator Yazın Öztürk, "Landscapes of the Mind", together with the artist's videos titled "Call" (2013) and "Tattoo" (2013), exhibited at the 55th Venice Biennale Turkey Pavilion, includes places such as hard-to-reach libraries, printing houses, paper shops, bookbinders, restoration workshops, and bookstores. It also includes a selection of photographs that document literary production from past to present.
Istanbul Modern Chairman of the Board of Directors Oya Eczacıbaşı said about the exhibition: "We are very pleased to host the 'Landscapes of the Mind' exhibition, which brings together Ali Kazma's works focusing on human history, production culture and intellectual heritage. As Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery, we continue to make the place of lens-based disciplines such as photography and video in contemporary art more visible, with the mission of being the first and only photography gallery established within a museum in Turkey. This exhibition is both analog and digital." "It sheds light on the multi-layered nature of art with the unique dialogue it establishes between productions," he said.
In addition to the artist Ali Kazma, curators and Burgan Bank Savings Management Deputy General Manager Aslı Koçer also attended the preview of the exhibition.
