Ahmet Duru

A Bottomless Pit, 2017, Mixed media, 16 × 21 × 40 cm

I generally construct my works around the relationship between nature and humankind, taking the themes of protection and preservation, extinction, and existence as my points of departure. In this mixed-media work, I conceived the installation as a ruined house standing at the centre of a garden. The ruined house is dominated by a cold, grey colour, representing the increasing prevalence of concrete in the city and the colour of the urban environment itself. Although we may occasionally retreat into nature in an attempt to distance ourselves from the city and protect our minds and perceptions, we are never entirely able to detach ourselves from the urban environment in which we live. In the work, the “house”—which appears remote, isolated, and removed from the complexity and congestion of the city—is a tangible expression of the place where our minds and perceptions seek refuge and protection. It also represents the metaphorical “back garden” of the mind: a space of retreat and gathering. As seen in the back garden, there are two sofas. This is the final gathering place, embodying the desire to act together as a last source of hope. In front of the house, however, there is a pit. As one approaches its darkness, it begins to resemble a “bottomless well.” The work takes its title from this image, referring to an endless and desolate darkness within the landscape of the mind.