Home: A malleable state that can take the form of living space, expand to the boundaries of your imagination and narrow down into the one fundamental need - one glass of water would be home for the one dying of thirst. The magical state about the notion of home is, it can be shaped through our imagination and senses however cannot be reduced to it or fit into one unalterable definition. Home could be a memory, an image, a smell, a song, or language as Hannah Arendt puts it - the ability to express one’s feelings without hesitation.
On the other hand, man, as a creature that tends to occupy space, will inevitably be in need of shelter and will always incline to settle and sprawl; to sprawl and create memories. In case we equate the borders of our house to our imagined borders of home, our living space becomes where we perform and reflect ourselves. The grammar of our domestic living reflects our experiences, memories, interests, reflexes; it echoes our past and a blurred glimpse of our future. A loop exists as long as humans transform their living spaces (a room, a city, or Earth) and in return, spaces shape the life chances of living beings. This dual transformation leads to the reconstruction of our home narratives on discrete infinite levels.
Space and Curtains
6 October 2021, Istanbul
Bed
12 October 2021, Istanbul
To me, until the age of eighteen, home had always been the place where I had my family - indeed it was my family house. My breaking away from this space-bounded home experience, in which I found myself suspended in a void and groundless for a while, coincides with the departure from my family house to pursue my education in Istanbul. Since then, almost for five years, I resided temporarily in dormitories, shared houses, and studios and never stayed settled in one place for more than ten months.
Every time, departure meant fitting the items that are fundamental to me (clothes, shoes, towel, sheets) and are meaningful to me (books, knitting needles, yarns, my paintings) into the largest baggage possible and hit the road. As well as, arrival meant the expansion of me and my items to the available space. This cycle of attachment and detachment came along with the minimization of the baggage size and a well-organized state of living - being always ready to depart. Living in temporal spaces lead to the transfiguration of my sense of home. I identified myself with a turtle; home became wherever I am, conditions were slowing me down as well as my loaded baggage, and the sense of self-sufficiency made me more resilient, like a shell.
Furnish
1 November 2021, Istanbul
Mes Affaires
1 November 2021, Istanbul
Wastes
2 November 2021, Istanbul
Canvas
7 November 2021, Istanbul
Study
22 November 2021, Istanbul
Late Night Reading
25 November 2021, Istanbul
The trunk unzips slowly and a relief similar to an undressing man who had to hide his belly behind the belt of his trousers all day becomes palpable. Clothes rise slowly, bent shoes regain their original form, and books breathe a little. Expanding to a room or a house or any form of residence comes with the slow process of re-attachment and the peace of mind that emerges from finally finding a place to settle in. The knowledge that your shelter is a luxury - which, over time, might become veiled beneath our daily concerns - remains visible in the very first days. Especially today, in times of pandemics in which isolation is vital, the privileged quality of having a dwelling is as real as the severe loneliness that we are pushed into our spaces by temporary but long-lasting quarantines.
Invasion
4 December 2021, Istanbul
Unzipped Trunk
14 December 2021, Istanbul
Installed Wardrobe
27 December 2021, Istanbul
Sum
28 December 2021, Istanbul
Podcast and Knit
30 December 2021, Istanbul
Inside Out
1 January 2022, Istanbul
FaceTime
3 January 2022, Istanbul
Lunch
7 January 2021, Istanbul
At the end, the temporary split from the unsettling conditions of living and the complex feelings that rush through us during the settlement process appear as a result of our existence and the semi-chaotic conditions of life; and reshape us and our life narratives by weaving new memories in return.
Home
17 January 2022, Istanbul
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