Exhibition explores landscape, memory and archives

ISTANBUL

“Breaking Through a Dam,” a new exhibition at Salt Beyoğlu, examines the intertwined relationships between landscape, memory and archives across a geography stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf region. Bringing together a wide selection of works, the exhibition reflects on alternative ways of “being-with-place” beyond colonial frameworks while envisioning shared grounds rooted in collective histories.

At its core, the exhibition focuses on how landscapes and infrastructures shape social and cultural bonds. Structures such as dams, canals, oil wells, geothermal plants, surveillance systems and communication towers not only transform physical environments but also influence the communities built around them. Yet, rather than erasing collective memory, these transformations embed it within the landscape itself. Rivers, wetlands, streets and even coffeehouses function as living archives that preserve layered histories.

Taking its title from a statement by human rights lawyer Noura Erakat, “We are breaking through a dam — keep pushing,” the exhibition frames infrastructures not only as tools of control but also as sites of resistance. Memory is portrayed as something that seeps into the present through cracks and fissures, much like a calm river that can suddenly overflow. While landscapes often reflect ownership, domination and resource extraction, they also carry practices of remembrance, solidarity and coexistence.

The exhibition space brings together diverse narratives, from remnants of colonial-era projects in the Sahara to the invisible geographies of telecommunication networks. Visitors encounter scenes such as light emerging from an abandoned nightclub and the echo of sinkholes collapsing time into seconds. Other works trace desert routes mapped for energy exploration in Western Asia, the enduring marks of nuclear disasters and the memories carried by migrant workers moving to Europe. These narratives converge alongside imagery such as resilient cactus roots redefining the borders of destroyed Palestinian villages.

Programmed by Gülce Özkara, the exhibition features works by artists including Haig Aivazian, Monira Al Qadiri, Mehmet Ali Boran, Can Candan, Aslıhan Demirtaş, Alia Farid, Emre Hüner and Merve Ünsal, among others.

“Breaking Through a Dam” will be on view at Salt Beyoğlu until Aug. 23.