}

sea/see/saw

Commissioned Installation by Artists Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett

June 5, 2015 - February 14, 2016

In 2015 Pera Museum celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate this celebration, the museum commissioned Canadian artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett to create a special and inspiring artwork for the museum’s façade.

Couched in the historic quarter of Tepebaşı, Beyoğlu neighborhood the impressive museum building was originally conceived as the Bristol Hotel – originally designed by Greek architect Achilleas Manussos in the late 19th century. In 2005, the building was renovated preserving the exterior façade.

Conceived in response to Pera Museum’s historic façade for the cultural space’s 10th anniversary, “sea/see/saw” invited viewers to re-examine a familiar space through a new lens. sea/see/saw’s use of lenses playfully spoke to changes in perception, celebrating Pera Museum’s contribution to Istanbul’s cultural landscape, with an eye focused on the future. Constructed from 10,000 eyeglass lenses, the installation intended to mirror the dynamic and shimmering surface of the Golden Horn, and introduced movement to the otherwise static structure, as drawn by the wind. Built from used glasses that merge to create a simple, geometric form, sea/see/saw invited viewers to engage in a momentary shift of perspective.

If eyes are “windows to the soul,” how do lenses revise our vision of the world around us? Do our former accessories carry faint ghosts of those who used them? As the materiality of the installation became apparent, the watchers became the watched, and this spectacle of spectacles took on another subtext as an icon for collective vision, compound perspectives, and the power of collaborative sight.

Today's Stories: Cihangir <br>Özge Baykan Calafato

Today's Stories: Cihangir
Özge Baykan Calafato

Inspired by the exhibition Istanbuls TodayToday's Stories series continues with Özge Baykan Calafato's story "Cihangir"! This series gathers short stories written by authors encouraged by the photographs in the exhibition.

The Welcoming of Venetian Balios to Ottoman Lands

The Welcoming of Venetian Balios to Ottoman Lands

The series of paintings depicting the audience ceremonies of European ambassadors hold a unique place among the works of Jean-Baptiste Vanmour of Valenciennes, who lived in İstanbul from 1699 until his death in 1737.

At The Well

At The Well

Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz discovered the Orient in 1877, touring Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and the Crimea with Władysław Branicki. This experience made a profound impression on him, and he was to continuously revisit Eastern themes in his works for the rest of his life.