Goat on the Mountain, Moon in the Sky, Fish in the Water
exhibited in DEPO / İstanbul, Turkey
27.04.-14.07.2023
organized by Depo
partly supported by CultureCIVIC
photo : Zeynep Fırat
The exhibition Goat on the Mountain, Moon in the Sky, Fish in the Water started as a research project in 2021. I was led to this research on the relationship between humans and nature by the faith of the people of Dersim and the sanctity they attribute to nature, as well as the dams and hydroelectric power stations planned to be built on the Mizur/Munzur River, the Munzur Springs Recreation Project, the slaughtering of mountain goats and the ongoing mining projects in Dersim.
In Dersim, where ecological destruction continues in every direction, mountain goats, the Sun, the Moon, mountains, stones, trees and the water are sacred according to the faith of Rê/Raa/Yol, which has animist qualities. I initiated my research by tracing back stories in my personal memory with the intention to examine and make visible the relationship between faith and nature in Dersim. Throughout the process, the accounts and rituals of the people I encountered during my visits to the villages and holy places, the images, objects and plants I collected, as well as the rushing water, stones, mountains, sun and wild goats, introduced me to different channels of communication and new ways of interpretation.
With the exhibition Goat on the Mountain, Moon in the Sky, Fish in the Water, I call attention to the sanctity of all living and non-living beings in nature, such as the Mizur/Munzur River and its water, the Mediterranean trout and the mountain goat, and the dams, hydroelectric power stations, mountain goat hunting auctions and mining projects that endanger them. All these ecologically destructive practices, cause not only an environmental collapse in Dersim, but also damage the sacred places that constitute its collective memory.
According to the anthropologist Ahmet Kerim Gültekin, in the understanding of Alevism in Dersim, “sacred place” cults have been embodied for centuries through “visits.” In reference to Mircea Eliade, Gültekin writes “a sacred place serves to ontologically establish the human and its sociality through space.” In the words of Ali Rıza Aslan, “For people from Dersim, ‘Çeme Muziri’, ‘Kemer Duzgıni’, ‘Gola Buyere’, ‘Koe Jele’, ‘Koe Bağıre’ are both sacred and guardians. They have been known to us for generations, guarding us, our ancestors, children and grandchildren, taking us under their wings against challenges. They are the protectors of Dersim against all forms of evil and cruelty.” Humans exist in time, space and relationality. Every intervention in their sacred geography can be seen as a direct, violent attack against nature, people and their faith, as it results in the destruction and/or restriction of their collective spaces.
In her article titled “The Sanctity of Water in Dersim, in the context of the relationship between Mizur/Munzur River and dam/HEPP projects”, the anthropologist Dilşa Deniz suggests that “The way the human/mortal body is lost and reborn/reembodied as an immortal body in the form of water/a river originating in a mountain, and as such becoming part of an infinite cycle, is significant for the reasoning around water, sanctity and life. Through this rebirth that is built on the discourse of immortality, Mizur/Munzur becomes more than a river, and is regarded as a divine form who is the source and saviour of, as well as constituted by, all the people and beings living in Dersim.”
In Dersim, there is a web of life that depends on nature and biodiversity, which can hardly continue otherwise. On the other hand, this dialogue between the people and nature of Dersim is also of great importance for the preservation of biodiversity. Various types of intervention on nature and culture that ignore the relationship between the two, increase the risk of species’ extinction. Today, the persistence of the faith of Rê/Raa/Yol and its predecessor beliefs (Urartian, Zoroastrian, Êzidi) in different forms contributes to the conservation and sustainable utilisation of nature. According to the faith, nature is a component of the universe and humans are only a part of this nature. Nature, in all its diversity, is the source of life, it heals and preserves, and therefore should be respected.
With the videos and installations in this exhibition, I would like to draw attention to cultural and biological diversity, and the daily life in Dersim where nature and the local culture intertwine. On the other hand, I allude to the importance of reconsidering the epistemological roots of our relationship to the world, and putting forth new propositions with the use of art at a time when global biodiversity is on the verge of disappearance. In my visual narratives, I search for ways to make another storytelling possible by emphasising both subjective and collective accounts, and question the interventions on our geography, nature and culture through cultural references. In my works, I try to establish a peculiar dialogue with different aspects of the culture of Dersim, and make the violence against all living and nonliving beings, nature and people as a whole visible. I regard the works in this exhibition as not the final result but rather a beginning of a long-term artistic research.
rezzan gümgüm
Sacred Nature (Kutsal Doğa) a monoprint book which is on display in the exhibition
Broşür: Dağdaki Keçi, Gökteki Ay, Sudaki Balık
