The exhibition titled “Border Memory: Tracing the Paths of Solitude Between Life and Death in Van” will meet the audience on Saturday, May 9th, at the Tariria Culture, Art and Gastronomy Center. As part of the exhibition program, a talk featuring Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda Tuncer and the Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Van, Ambassador Mr. Emre Zeki Karagöl, will be held at 12:30 PM, followed by the official opening ceremony at 2:00 PM. The exhibition will remain open to visitors from May 9 to May 24, 2026.
The “Border Memory” exhibition project focuses on migration routes, cemeteries, and the spaces that bear witness to the silence surrounding the Turkey–Iran border in Van. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2024, the project utilizes photography to bring visibility to the often-marginalized stories, silenced testimonies, and the traces of the “unclaimed” along the border line. The exhibition offers a visual narrative centered on the fading traces in cemeteries and the lives lost in the uncertainty of the border, inviting the audience to reflect on lives caught between life and death. While the photographs in the exhibition were taken by Doğukan Tatar, the curation is led by Berfin Hanalp.
Another featured work in the exhibition is an illustration titled “The Gender of Migration: Sitayeş’s Story.” This work focuses on the months-long journey of a woman forced to migrate from Afghanistan to Turkey. Aiming to make the migration experience visible through a female perspective, the piece was prepared by Berfin Hanalp and visualized through the illustrations of Nazlı Cem.
Border Memory opens up a space for interaction that transcends physical boundaries, inviting the viewer not only to experience an exhibition but also to reconsider the relationship between witnessing, remembering, and representation. This production—where photography, illustration, and research converge—treats the border geography not merely as a zone of transition, but as a site where memory is shaped, bringing together diverse forms of expression.
Border Memory: Tracing the Paths of Solitude Between Life and Death in Van
- Photographs: Doğukan Tatar
- Curator: Berfin Hanalp
- Venue: Tariria Culture, Art and Gastronomy Center
Border Memory: Tracing the Paths of Solitude Between Life and Death in Van is supported by the European Union within the framework of the CultureCIVIC: Culture and Arts Support Program.
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