Exhibition:
Ali Taptık, Merve Mepa, Aslı Çavuşoğlu
Salt Artistic Research and Production Grant Program
Salt Galata
March 19 – June 15, 2025
Courtesy the artists
Mastercard Exhibition Hall
The projects selected for the first edition of the Salt Artistic Research and Production Grant Program, in collaboration with the BBVA Foundation, are presented at Salt Galata. The exhibition features works by Aslı Uludağ, recipient of the Artistic Research Grant, and Ali Taptık and Merve Mepa, recipients of the Production Grant.
Hydro-Geothermal Bodies, an outcome of Aslı Uludağ’s ongoing research since 2019, focuses on the development of geothermal energy in Aydın, Manisa, and Denizli. The installation includes a timeline charting the legal, scientific, and economic transformations that have shaped the governance of hydro-geothermal resources in the region, a diagram illustrating the private, public, and communal structures, and a map exposing the spatial implications of events outlined in the timeline and the diagram. Field recordings from interviews with thermal bath owners and users, geological engineers, and village residents are accompanied by a series of videos that explore the local hydro-geothermal relations. Mapping an intertwined network of relations, the installation challenges the mechanisms of scientific measurement while tracing the commons embodied in local practices and built around resources.
In Meshwork, Merve Mepa weaves a multifaceted structure that reflects the entanglement of evolving systems, from ancient weaving practices to the complex infrastructures of modern technologies. The installation centers on the notion of line, derived from linea, meaning “linen thread” in Latin, and explores how linearity manifests across various systems. It reveals how centralized network environments, where connections are concentrated in “power nodes,” shape both physical and digital infrastructures. Whereas “meshwork,” from which the installation takes its title, refers not to a network of connections but to interwoven lines of growth that are in constant flux. Highlighting the fluidity of systems that traverse the earth, the installation unveils the shifting dynamics of connectivity, memory, and power.
Ali Taptık’s ongoing project Osmanbey: Social and Spatial Entanglements investigates the interplay between commerce, urban transformation, and the intricate social fabric of a central Istanbul district. The iteration presented at Salt Galata comprises a two-channel video, along with an installation to be augmented by related documents and photographs throughout the exhibition. Blending visual storytelling with observational research, the work highlights the coexistence of diverse economic activities and the layered histories embedded in the district’s urban fabric. It sheds light on how spaces are transformed by overlapping systems of trade, culture, and identity.
The projects were selected by the selection committee—comprising Ala Younis, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Fatma Çolakoğlu, Juan Pujol Rodríguez, Manuel Segade, and Vasıf Kortun—and can be viewed at Salt Galata until June 15.
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Program Coordinator: Alâ Taleb
Production: Emirhan Altuner
Editor: Ezgi Yurteri
Installation: Burak Bodur, Eray Özcan, 3T Reklam, Fiksatif
Communication Design: Özge Güven
The exhibition is realized with the contributions of Eureko Sigorta and Jotun.
The projects selected for the first edition of the Salt Artistic Research and Production Grant Program, in collaboration with the BBVA Foundation, are presented at Salt Galata. The exhibition features works by Aslı Uludağ, recipient of the Artistic Research Grant, and Ali Taptık and Merve Mepa, recipients of the Production Grant.
Hydro-Geothermal Bodies, an outcome of Aslı Uludağ’s ongoing research since 2019, focuses on the development of geothermal energy in Aydın, Manisa, and Denizli. The installation includes a timeline charting the legal, scientific, and economic transformations that have shaped the governance of hydro-geothermal resources in the region, a diagram illustrating the private, public, and communal structures, and a map exposing the spatial implications of events outlined in the timeline and the diagram. Field recordings from interviews with thermal bath owners and users, geological engineers, and village residents are accompanied by a series of videos that explore the local hydro-geothermal relations. Mapping an intertwined network of relations, the installation challenges the mechanisms of scientific measurement while tracing the commons embodied in local practices and built around resources.
In Meshwork, Merve Mepa weaves a multifaceted structure that reflects the entanglement of evolving systems, from ancient weaving practices to the complex infrastructures of modern technologies. The installation centers on the notion of line, derived from linea, meaning “linen thread” in Latin, and explores how linearity manifests across various systems. It reveals how centralized network environments, where connections are concentrated in “power nodes,” shape both physical and digital infrastructures. Whereas “meshwork,” from which the installation takes its title, refers not to a network of connections but to interwoven lines of growth that are in constant flux. Highlighting the fluidity of systems that traverse the earth, the installation unveils the shifting dynamics of connectivity, memory, and power.
Ali Taptık’s ongoing project Osmanbey: Social and Spatial Entanglements investigates the interplay between commerce, urban transformation, and the intricate social fabric of a central Istanbul district. The iteration presented at Salt Galata comprises a two-channel video, along with an installation to be augmented by related documents and photographs throughout the exhibition. Blending visual storytelling with observational research, the work highlights the coexistence of diverse economic activities and the layered histories embedded in the district’s urban fabric. It sheds light on how spaces are transformed by overlapping systems of trade, culture, and identity.
The projects were selected by the selection committee—comprising Ala Younis, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Fatma Çolakoğlu, Juan Pujol Rodríguez, Manuel Segade, and Vasıf Kortun—and can be viewed at Salt Galata until June 15.
Program Coordinator: Alâ Taleb
Production: Emirhan Altuner
Editor: Ezgi Yurteri
Installation: Burak Bodur, Eray Özcan, 3T Reklam, Fiksatif
Communication Design: Özge Güven
The exhibition is realized with the contributions of Eureko Sigorta and Jotun.
