NoWater NoHope, 2023

text / graffiti

“ İnsan Hatasından Dönebilen, Doğa İse Kendini Onarabilen Bir Canlıdır. Su Yok Umut Yok! ” [tr]

“Humanity Can Recover From Its Own Mistakes, And Nature Can Repair Itself. No Water No Hope ! ” [eng]

Recently, while I was thinking to work on nature, I received an invitation to do a piece on Water in the context of the 4th Circular Festival in Mersin.

I started talking with local activists and academics dealing with environmental issues. They all agreed on one thing: the environmental destruction caused by many areas of economic activity —from tourism to industry, from mining to agriculture— is the result of prioritizing development goals over nature.

Every article I read and every activist I spoke to described very well the deplorable trajectory and the indifference of the authorities.

So, where could a nature activist find hope and strength to continue the struggle in this course towards extinction?

The answers I got turned into a graffiti that tries to keep hope alive while reclaiming urban public space as a medium to voice collective concerns and demands:

“Humanity Can Recover From Its Own Mistakes, And Nature Can Repair Itself. No Water No Hope ! ”