Cleaning operation | 2019
Barış Seyitvan & M.Ali Boran
Video, 6:18 Installation earth, plastic, spray, paint, 2019
Commissioned by Perpetuum Mobile (PM) for the “Artists at Risk (AR) Pavilion Helsinki – Mass Memory Machines”.
Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant have been under construction for more than 30 years in Hasankeyf district of Batman, which will cause many damages.
The flooding of the ancient city of Hasankeyf destroys not only the history of the 12,000-year world cultural heritage, but also the biodiversity in the Tigris valley.
Thousands of people were forced
to migrate from their homes to the metropolitan cities due to the construction
of the “Ilisu Dam”. Those who caused this disaster also caused
ecological, social, cultural and psychological destruction in the region. And
they continue to cause.
Now with the collection of water close to 250 mounds, more than 5 thousand
caves, historical mosques, church ruins, tombs, historic bridges began to
remain under water. In the process of building this dam, most of the caves were
destroyed by dynamite.
In this video work, we remove the dust left behind by the construction machines that destroyed the historical texture, nature and biosphere of the city and we deliver the dam that we cannot prevent its construction, with our own hands. This will take place in the history of humanity as other disasters caused by humanity.
