‘Hollow and Broken: A State of the World’ represents Türkiye at Venice

Gülsün Karamustafa's installation at Venice invites viewers to consider the tragic and tumultuous realities of a world impacted by wars, earthquakes, migration and nuclear peril.

The Türkiye Pavilion presents "Hollow and Broken: A State of the World," a site-specific installation by Gülsün Karamustafa, one of Türkiye's most influential and outspoken artists, at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.

Situated in the Arsenale's historic Sale d'Armi, the exhibition runs through Nov. 24.

Karamustafa's installation invites viewers to consider the tragic and tumultuous realities of a world impacted by wars, earthquakes, migration and nuclear peril. Comprising an interconnection of sculptural works that champion her use of disparate materials, the premiere of a new film and a sound installation, these works reflect her perception of the world as broken and empty.

Space plays a central role in the exhibition, with Karamustafa drawing inspiration from the rectangular shape of the Sale d'Armi, reminiscent of the dimensions of the historical Hippodrome of Constantinople in Istanbul and the building's former history, reinforcing her connection with the surroundings.

Upon entering the Pavilion, visitors encounter three striking chandeliers suspended from above, crafted from discarded Venetian glass, each representing a monotheistic faith: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These luminous symbolic objects are shrouded in a web of barbed wire - conveying the historic tensions and quarrels between each religion and serving as a lens through which she explores the state of our world today.

This concept echoes Karamustafa's 1998 artwork, "Trellis of My Mind," a 20-meter frieze composed of 300 colorful religious...