The show is over, my friends. Welcome inside the mind.
downwards.
Further and further, deeper and deeper.
At the heart of the exhibition, realized through the collaboration between a.vision and ye’r community, lies a formal experiment. The poem we read on paper, through the curatorial approach of the exhibition, seeks to transform its material—the word—into the very “thing” it signifies by utilizing the possibilities of physicalization.
The thing is a reality that exists in itself, which a human being can only relate to by approaching. It is the concrete being or experience that has been observed, touched, and lived—life itself. It is sincere and authentic. The word, on the other hand, is the way this lived thing is expressed in poetry. It is a structure that carries thought, meaning, and our relationship with the world.
In poetry, the word leads the reader to the thing. But in this form of poetry, what is experienced is the thing itself: the inside of a mind. In this way, through the effect of physicalization and atmospheric creation, the word, as the material of poetry, is transformed into the [thing] within the exhibition format.
downwards., a physical poetry experiment, transforms the material of poetry, inviting the experiencer to draw near, to “enter into” the atmosphere it creates. It says: “Would you knock on the door?”
Approaching the concept of the mind from a poetic angle, the exhibition constructs this space not only as an intellectual realm but also as an emotional and intuitive one. In an atmosphere where the sacred is hidden within destruction, it invites the viewer to wander through both dark and luminous territories. It offers an experience that lies somewhere between a wild spirit, a soft heart, and a tender texture.
With the participation of fourteen artists, the exhibition reflects on the mind as a holistic human existence. Through the themes of state, inhabitation, flaw, and intuition, the multilayered show features works by Göksu Çınar, İkra Nur Doğrudil, Eylül Elönü, Alina Koç, Melek Metin, Mısra Mırmır, Hamdi Oğulhan Tünay, Şamil Burhan Öztürk, Ayşenur Sarı, Kaan Sümer, Nermin Taş, Mahir Taşyurt, Mehmet Uygur, and Nico the Terrible.
Curated by C. Alim Sarı, downwards. was presented at Sabancı University’s Kasa Gallery between 28 June – 11 July 2025, with the support of alasagi., Losca Studio, BD Dikey Bahçe, GWM, and sayron.
a.vision: https://www.instagram.com/alasagi.vision/
ye’r community: https://www.instagram.com/yercommunity/
