The Seventh Continent, 16th Istanbul Biennial
14 September - 10 November 2019
MSFAU Painting and Sculpture Museum
Curator: Nicolas Bourriaud


In her conceptual works, Elmas Deniz calls attention to ecological changes occurring with capitalism and the age of the Anthropocene. She examines the changing of the landscape and the deterioration of nature by humankind. Deniz is showing two works about disappeared flows of water. The first one is a three-dimensional topographic relief of Istanbul, spanning the area from Şisli to Taksim Square. On this relief, lost rivers and creeks are marked on the current roads that were built on them. For her other piece, Deniz examined the natural history of a creek near which she grew up, near Bergama province. The resulting wall installation documents and recalls the losses, transformations and extinctions around the creek across time, while focusing on the small and insignificant.

[Text from the exhibition guide book with small edits.] Photo Credits: First two by Sahir Ugur Eren. Others by Kayhan Kaygusuz.