Could the future be remembered through the familiar objects collected in the past? Could these objects act as a means to shape the memories of the future that will come as fragments—a means to shape, understand, and preserve the past?
Souvenirs of the Future, which set forth from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, explored the ties forged between memory and imagination through contemporary works while focusing on what was remembered with the help of objects. The cultural and symbolic value and meaning of objects that had been acquired or collected as souvenirs—as reminders of a certain place and time—interwove the memory of the region with personal journeys.
The exhibition presented a future-oriented perspective of the archive while aiming to understand the future through commissioned contemporary works inspired by the collection. Yet, instead of a nostalgic devotion to the past, it proposed contemplating how we would remember the future.
Curated by Ulya Soley and organized in memory of Suna Kıraç, who created the Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, the exhibition featured a selection from the collection that accompanied each corresponding section and inspired the contemporary works.
Artists: Adriana Varejão, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Bilal Yılmaz, Burçak Bingöl, Candice Lin, Deniz Eroglu, Elif Uras, Francesco Simeti, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Livia Marin, Metehan Törer, Neven Allgeier, oddviz, Skuja Braden, Taner Ceylan, Volkan Aslan, Yasemin Özcan, Zsófia Keresztes.
