Aftermath Of The Climate Crisis: Derinkuyu Revived
Video Installation, 4K Single-Channel Digital Video Animation Loops with Music, 2024
Duration: 7 minutes 04 seconds
Funded by,
DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award by The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and Indy Arts Council,
Frank C. Springer Family Innovative Faculty Award by Indiana University Indianapolis Herron School of Art and Design
https://indyarts.org/programs/dehaan-artist-of-distinction-award-exhibtion/
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The climate crisis, the real apocalypse, is here. Climate change affects the entire interconnected system of the Earth, leading to various consequences. Around 2800 years ago, the inhabitants of the Cappadocia area, Türkiye, made a crucial decision due to the harsh conditions they faced, including severe weather and the constant fear of conflict. They opted to construct a complete Derinkuyu underground city, which remains the oldest and the biggest surviving underground city, accommodating approximately 20,000 residents and offering schools, residences, markets, and places of worship. I reimagine this city for how we can scientifically imagine it during the climate crisis and how humans would live in underground cities using scientific facts and science fiction in the future. I focus on representing these concepts using technology (animated computer-generated loops and/or sound and 3D/2D visualizations). I aim to revisit the past, ancient underground cities in Cappadocia, examine how people lived and survived together, imagine and apply these for the future, and understand how ancient underground city inhabitants can help us to survive and build our future lives. I address the problem of climate change and its effects on our planet. 25,000 Gen A.I. images were created, collected, collaged, synthesized, and processed for this project, and these were animated and created 42 animated scenes. Music composition was another integral part of the project. During my research, the traditional Duduk, an ancient wind instrument, combined its historical sound with futuristic analog synthesizers. This fusion of past and future elements echoed the visual themes of the video, further immersing the viewer in the speculative narrative I had crafted.
Video Installation, 4K Single-Channel Digital Video Animation Loops with Music, 2024
Duration: 7 minutes 04 seconds
Funded by,
DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award by The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation and Indy Arts Council,
Frank C. Springer Family Innovative Faculty Award by Indiana University Indianapolis Herron School of Art and Design
https://indyarts.org/programs/dehaan-artist-of-distinction-award-exhibtion/
The climate crisis, the real apocalypse, is here. Climate change affects the entire interconnected system of the Earth, leading to various consequences. Around 2800 years ago, the inhabitants of the Cappadocia area, Türkiye, made a crucial decision due to the harsh conditions they faced, including severe weather and the constant fear of conflict. They opted to construct a complete Derinkuyu underground city, which remains the oldest and the biggest surviving underground city, accommodating approximately 20,000 residents and offering schools, residences, markets, and places of worship. I reimagine this city for how we can scientifically imagine it during the climate crisis and how humans would live in underground cities using scientific facts and science fiction in the future. I focus on representing these concepts using technology (animated computer-generated loops and/or sound and 3D/2D visualizations). I aim to revisit the past, ancient underground cities in Cappadocia, examine how people lived and survived together, imagine and apply these for the future, and understand how ancient underground city inhabitants can help us to survive and build our future lives. I address the problem of climate change and its effects on our planet. 25,000 Gen A.I. images were created, collected, collaged, synthesized, and processed for this project, and these were animated and created 42 animated scenes. Music composition was another integral part of the project. During my research, the traditional Duduk, an ancient wind instrument, combined its historical sound with futuristic analog synthesizers. This fusion of past and future elements echoed the visual themes of the video, further immersing the viewer in the speculative narrative I had crafted. Research and Background
Climate change affects the entire interconnected system of the Earth, leading to various consequences. These include severe droughts, water scarcity, intense wildfires, rising sea levels, floods, polar ice melting, extreme storms, and declining biodiversity. Scientists claim that it causes further irreversible damage to our ecosystems and makes the world's surface inhabitable. The rising sea levels and the heat will vanish our cities. Around 2800 years ago, the inhabitants of the Cappadocia area, Türkiye, made a crucial decision due to the harsh conditions they faced, including severe weather and the constant fear of conflict. Derinkuyu is the most excavated underground city in the world, accommodating approximately 20,000 residents and offering schools, residences, markets, and places of worship. Because of the secrecy, there is no public entrance to the city, and it has more than 600 entrances within homes leading to the subterrestrial city of Derinkuyu. The first inhabitants, Pyrigians, carved the first couple of levels, then Persians, Romans (Greeks), Christians, Armenians, and Ottomans extended and created this huge underground city for centuries. In 1985, the region was added to the Unesco World Heritage list.
Project Concept
I rethink the biggest ancient underground city, ancient technologies, and ancient lifestyles to imagine the future. I aim to indicate how humans can survive crises and learn from their mistakes. I propose to indicate how environmental factors and technological developments can change our culture, especially our daily lives and communication, as a semi-science fiction story in which I believe our adaptation skills are strong enough to survive in any circumstances. I intend to investigate the benefits and risks of technology in the future and convey the possibilities and fictional concepts. By imagining the future, I intend to increase conversations and active involvement with ancient civilizations and future communities to connect the past, present, and future culturally and socially. I propose how our past daily practices in various cultures and communities could help us predict the future during tremendous crises such as climate crises. For instance, Derinkuyu Underground City is mainly organized around four main vertical ventilation shafts and approximately 50,000 ancillary ventilation channels, which were also used to communicate with people on different levels of the city. Ancient people used these ventilation channels to survive while hiding from incursions. I plan to record whispers in ancient Persian, Phrygian, and ancient Greek languages to recreate how these ancient civilizations communicated in underground cities.
In addition to that, this artwork allows me to explore its inhabitants' cultural and social aspects. This focuses on the understanding of their survival strategies and how they communicate inside the city. Derinkuyu served as a refuge during times of warfare and persecution, highlighting the resourcefulness and adaptability of ancient communities in the face of adversity. This knowledge can offer lessons for contemporary and future disaster preparedness and resilience, especially during the climate crises in the near future when the earth's surface becomes inhabitable. The Derinkuyu ancient underground city research project holds significant importance for various fields of study in contemporary society and our future during the climate crisis. The underground city's construction techniques are still inspiring today.
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*Layout-RepresentationProduction Process
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