Black Sea (2008) 12x12inches, graphite and collage on map.
Turkey is a particular place in the world for me–not just geographically but also emotionally and, on a sort of fundamental level, constitutionally. Many core aspects of my life are woven around travel experiences in Turkey and proximity to people, rural landscapes, and the abundant aesthetic resonance of the place. Some things closest to my heart are the result of experiences there, or grew out of my own travels in that country. This drawing isn’t really about Turkey as much as being a reminder of the in-between place that Turkey signifies in my life.
I appreciate that maps can mark places and boundaries but also can demarcate different kinds of memories. Of course, the fact that this map was taken from an old German history of the Holy Land adds a layer to the collage that isn’t really visible at all.
The original source is Auf biblischen Pfaden: Reisebilder aus Aegypten, Palästina, Syrien, Kleinasien, Griechenland und der Türkei, by Johannes Ninck (Verlag der Expedition des “Deutschen Kinderfreundes” Hamburg, 1892).
Ephemerarium 