Ayşe Güngör: Roots in Resistance: Vegetal Life in the Contemporary Eco-art Practices from Turkey

In recent years, there have been several environmental resistances against the large-scale urban development, infrastructure, and transportation projects in Turkey, due to their numerous negative impacts on the eco-system, on public health, and the lives of local residents. Whilst rapidly increasing environmental destruction, a growing number of artists engaging with these environmental issues formed ground to think broadly on how art can relate to ecological issues in the intensity of social, economic, and political realities. Focused on various methods and social scientific engagements in contemporary eco-art practices from Turkey, Ayşe Güngör traces the role of plants in the resistance against environmental issues. By discussing diverse theoretical approaches through the concept of 'ecological aesthetics' and critical approaches within the context of Anthropocene, she aims to analyze how plants have been involved in the artistic practices as a subject to create a sense of awareness on the ecological emergencies by rethinking the interrelations between art, nature, and politics.

Ayşe Güngör is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the 4A_Lab program. She is an Art Historian, Anthropologist, and Curator, living and working in Berlin. She received her PhD from Technische Universität Berlin in Art History with a dissertation on Confluence of Art and Anthropology in the Practices of Contemporary Artists from Turkey. She received her BA degree in Anthropology from Istanbul University and her MA Degree on Art Theory. Parallel to her research, she has organized workshops on Art and Anthropology in Akbank Sanat, Istanbul and Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul. She has worked as lecturer in Istanbul Aydın University, Marmara University, and Technische Universität Berlin and as a visiting lecturer in Poznan School of Social Sciences, Athens School of Fine Arts and Universität Zürich.