“Dirt Is The Color Of Labor”

text / site-specific installation

“The roots of modernity lie in traditions. You cannot modernise if you discard your tradition.”

Darshan Shankar - Hacking for the Commons

“Dirt Is The Color Of Labor” is a site-specific installation that aims to activate social recognition of Crafts and highlight the relationship between Dirt and Labor.

By establishing an aesthetic link between dirt and labor, the installation re-introduces value into the social perception of crafts in contemporary, post-industrial society. It is the most recent output of my long running field research on crafts and it was exhibited on the chimney of Museum Gazhane, a 130-year-old power plant recently converted into a museum. “Dirt is the Color of Labor” continues the narrative of my work “Dirty Box”, which was exhibited at the 15th Istanbul Biennial, questioning the social perception of dirt and labour and opening the discussion for a socially sustainable production model.

From Craft Research:

Thanks to my field research on craftsmanship, I had the chance to visit many craft workshops. There are many valuable materials and skills gained in craft workshops for centuries, but almost none of these workshops have apprentices anymore. The craft disappears with all its experience and knowledge. When I asked the masters why they did not pass on this valuable know-how to the next generation, to their children or relatives, I got the same answer from almost all of them: “Who wants to make money by getting their hands dirty in this era!”.

The international visibility of my work on the craft enabled me to communicate with the actors working on the craft in other countries and to compare the social value of the craft. Comparative studies showed that the perception of “dirt and labor” is a socially and regionally changing and changeable value.

Craft, which brings different communities together and enables production-oriented dialogues between communities, can be an important part of a culturally, socially and economically sustainable production model in post-industrial communities.

#Crafted In Istanbul

Produced in Craft studios of Istanbul:

Turret Lathe: Nedim Köroğlu. MetalSmith: Emrullah Besik. Oven-dry Painting: Kamil Türnüklü.

Site-Specific Installations, Museum Gazhane, Istanbul, Turkey
June 2022