Goat on the Mountain 
Moon in the Sky
Fish in the Water

"The exhibition Goat on the Mountain, Moon in the Sky, Fish in the Water started as a research project in 2021. I was led to this research on the relationship between humans and nature by the faith of the people of Dersim and the sanctity they attribute to nature, as well as the dams and hydroelectric power stations planned to be built on the Mizur/Munzur River, the Munzur Springs Recreation Project, the slaughtering of mountain goats and the ongoing mining projects in Dersim.

In Dersim, where ecological destruction continues in every direction, mountain goats, the Sun, the Moon, mountains, stones, trees and the water are sacred according to the faith of Rê/Raa/Yol, which has animist qualities. I initiated my research by tracing back stories in my personal memory with the intention to examine and make visible the relationship between faith and nature in Dersim. Throughout the process, the accounts and rituals of the people I encountered during my visits to the villages and holy places, the images, objects and plants I collected, as well as the rushing water, stones, mountains, sun, and wild goats, introduced me to different channels of communication and new ways of interpretation.

With the exhibition Goat on the Mountain, Moon in the Sky, Fish in the Water, I call attention to the sanctity of all living and non-living beings in nature, such as the Mizur/Munzur River and its water, the Mediterranean trout and the mountain goat, and the dams, hydroelectric power stations, mountain goat hunting auctions and mining projects that endanger them. All these ecologically destructive practices cause not only an environmental collapse in Dersim, but also damage the sacred places that constitute its collective memory.

In Dersim, there is a web of life that depends on nature and biodiversity, which can hardly continue otherwise. On the other hand, this dialogue between the people and nature of Dersim is also of great importance for the preservation of biodiversity. Various types of interventions on nature and culture that ignore the relationship between the two increase the risk of species extinction. Today, the persistence of the faith of Rê/Raa/Yol and its predecessor beliefs (Urartian, Zoroastrian, Êzidi) in different forms contributes to the conservation and sustainable utilisation of nature. According to the faith, nature is a component of the universe, and humans are only a part of this nature. Nature, in all its diversity, is the source of life; it heals and preserves, and therefore should be respected.

With the videos and installations in this exhibition, I would like to draw attention to cultural and biological diversity, and the daily life in Dersim, where nature and the local culture intertwine. On the other hand, I allude to the importance of reconsidering the epistemological roots of our relationship to the world, and putting forth new propositions with the use of art at a time when global biodiversity is on the verge of disappearance. In my visual narratives, I search for ways to make another storytelling possible by emphasising both subjective and collective accounts, and question the interventions on our geography, nature and culture through cultural references. In my works, I try to establish a peculiar dialogue with different aspects of the culture of Dersim, and make the violence against all living and nonliving beings, nature and people as a whole visible. I regard the works in this exhibition as not the final result but rather a beginning of a long-term artistic research."

rezzan gümgüm