“Memento Mori” March 1, 2022 – April 9, 2022

Founded in 1976 by Rabia Çapa and Varlık Yalman Sadıkoğlu, Maçka Sanat Galerisi has served Turkish Contemporary Art for 40 years and continues its second chapter under the management of Didem Çapa. The gallery’s fourth exhibition of the new era, “Memento Mori,” once again brings art enthusiasts together.

Artists Ali Cabbar, Carmen Lozar, Dolce Paganne (Ceren Aksungur), Esra Carus, Fatih Kızılcan, Fırat Neziroğlu, Gönül Nuhoğlu, Hakan Gündüz, Ömür Tokgöz, Rüçhan Şahinoğlu, Serhat Kiraz, Server Demirtaş, Sevgi Karay, Şükran Moral, and Yiğit Aral come together around the concept of death.

The Latin expression “Memento Mori,” often translated as “Remember that you are mortal” or “Remember that you will die,” dates back to antiquity. It gained prominence in the 16th and 17th centuries through the Vanitas movement and has continued to inspire artists throughout art history. Maçka Sanat Galerisi’s first group exhibition of 2022, “Memento Mori,” spans disciplines such as ceramics, sculpture, painting, textile, and glass. The participating artists examine the concept of death and open new avenues for discussion around life, death, and art.

In the exhibition catalogue, Fırat Arapoğlu, a member of AICA TR – International Association of Art Critics, interprets the concept as follows:

"Death may come through war, a natural disaster, an epidemic/pandemic, or simply the course of life, and it is inevitable. So, how has 'mortality,' an ancient and universal phenomenon, been represented in art, and how is it still represented today? In other words, how has humanity’s transient nature transformed into an aesthetic expression? Through a certain alienation towards the notion of death—or by facing it with composure—humankind has begun to reflect on the reality of mortality and the value of time. Only in this way can the awareness of death transcend a mere depiction of ars moriendi (the art of dying) and become a representation that reminds us to live, a true memento mori. Two truths emerge: first, tempus fugit (time flies)! Virgil’s words remind us of the moments and time that cannot be reclaimed, urging us not to waste them. Second, virtus junxit mors non separabit (what virtue unites, death cannot separate); in this journey through time, what endures are not material objects but the virtues left behind by an individual."