Artist Talk:
Dark World
Mike Bode and Caner Yalçın with Elif Kamışlı
Salt Galata
December 4, 2025 18.30
Installation view from the exhibition Dark World, Salt Galata, 2025
Photo: Kayhan Kaygusuz
Photo: Kayhan Kaygusuz
Workshop IV
Dark World is the result of a long-term interdisciplinary research project by artist Mike Bode and screenwriter Caner Yalçın, exploring the turbulent history of a little-known 1950s film directed by Metin Erksan and written by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. Featuring video installations, a selection of research material, and an exploratory script, the exhibition approaches the film Karanlık Dünya / Âşık Veysel’in Hayatı [Dark World / The Life of Âşık Veysel] not as a coherent narrative but as a material object shaped by cultural, political, and historical forces.
In this talk, moderated by exhibition maker and writer Elif Kamışlı, Mike Bode and Caner Yalçın will discuss the project’s origins, the development of the exhibition, collaborative artistic research practice, and the challenges of engaging with cultural heritage.
This free-admission program will be held in both English and Turkish and is open to everyone.
Mike Bode is a visual artist and researcher whose practice is frequently developed through interdisciplinary collaborations that focus on investigations of place and image in relation to societal, historical, and political shifts. His work has been presented at institutions including Kunst-Werke, Berlin; the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius; the Nobel Museum, Stockholm; the Secession, Vienna; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; and the Yokohama Triennale.
Caner Yalçın is a screenwriter and filmmaker. He studied Journalism at the Faculty of Communication at Marmara University and received his MA in Cinema and Television from Istanbul Bilgi University. He has written screenplays for television channels and digital platforms. His work also includes writing and directing short films.
Elif Kamışlı is an exhibition maker and writer. She studied political science, cultural studies, and cultural experience design in Istanbul and Rome. From 2014 to 2024, she served as Exhibition Manager for the Istanbul Biennial. Since 2013, Kamışlı has written on the intersections of art, literature, and lived experience. Her essays titled “Sunday Posts” were featured in the catalog of the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022), and her book defterler / τετράδια / notebooks (2021) was published by the NEON Foundation. She also co-authored En İyi Dileklerimle [Best Wishes] (YKY, 2020) with Volkan Aslan and edited İnci Eviner’s Co-action Device: A Study (2014). She curated Åsa Jungnelius’s solo show, which opened at Pera Museum in September 2025. Currently, she is Director of the Adyar Art Project for the Theosophical Society in Adyar, India.
Dark World is the result of a long-term interdisciplinary research project by artist Mike Bode and screenwriter Caner Yalçın, exploring the turbulent history of a little-known 1950s film directed by Metin Erksan and written by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. Featuring video installations, a selection of research material, and an exploratory script, the exhibition approaches the film Karanlık Dünya / Âşık Veysel’in Hayatı [Dark World / The Life of Âşık Veysel] not as a coherent narrative but as a material object shaped by cultural, political, and historical forces.
In this talk, moderated by exhibition maker and writer Elif Kamışlı, Mike Bode and Caner Yalçın will discuss the project’s origins, the development of the exhibition, collaborative artistic research practice, and the challenges of engaging with cultural heritage.
This free-admission program will be held in both English and Turkish and is open to everyone.
Mike Bode is a visual artist and researcher whose practice is frequently developed through interdisciplinary collaborations that focus on investigations of place and image in relation to societal, historical, and political shifts. His work has been presented at institutions including Kunst-Werke, Berlin; the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius; the Nobel Museum, Stockholm; the Secession, Vienna; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; and the Yokohama Triennale.
Caner Yalçın is a screenwriter and filmmaker. He studied Journalism at the Faculty of Communication at Marmara University and received his MA in Cinema and Television from Istanbul Bilgi University. He has written screenplays for television channels and digital platforms. His work also includes writing and directing short films.
Elif Kamışlı is an exhibition maker and writer. She studied political science, cultural studies, and cultural experience design in Istanbul and Rome. From 2014 to 2024, she served as Exhibition Manager for the Istanbul Biennial. Since 2013, Kamışlı has written on the intersections of art, literature, and lived experience. Her essays titled “Sunday Posts” were featured in the catalog of the 17th Istanbul Biennial (2022), and her book defterler / τετράδια / notebooks (2021) was published by the NEON Foundation. She also co-authored En İyi Dileklerimle [Best Wishes] (YKY, 2020) with Volkan Aslan and edited İnci Eviner’s Co-action Device: A Study (2014). She curated Åsa Jungnelius’s solo show, which opened at Pera Museum in September 2025. Currently, she is Director of the Adyar Art Project for the Theosophical Society in Adyar, India.
