Located on the outskirts of Istanbul, in the forest-surrounded atmosphere of Uskumruköy, Hara hosts a boundary-pushing exhibition between March 1 and July 26. The Promises of Monsters, curated by Ezgi Hamzaçebi, examines the representations of human and non-human bodies, states, and modes of existence that have historically been labeled as “monstrous.”
The exhibition brings together ten artists from different disciplines: Canavar, Hilal Polat, İrem Aydın, Lara Ögel, Ömer Tevfik Erten, Seçil Epik, Serkan Aka, Şafak Şule Kemancı, Yaşam Şaşmazer and Zeynep Kılınç. Spanning sculpture, installation, photography and video—many of them produced specifically for this exhibition—the works approach bodies and identities not as fixed categories but as states of suspension and threshold.
A space where boundaries blur
In the exhibition, the boundaries between human and non-human, living and non-living, natural and artificial, functional and waste, visible and suppressed are constantly shifting. Fragmented bodies, ghostlike plants, monstrous images, de-functionalized forms and ritual remnants draw attention to processes of “becoming embodied,” while inviting viewers to move beyond the impulse to categorize. Here, flaw, mutation, hybridity and darkness are not deviations but traces of potential, resistance and alternative ways of existing. The figure of the monster appears not as a threatening other, but as a threshold figure that resists classification and hints at futures not yet fully defined.
Rethinking the concept of the "monster"
Ezgi Hamzaçebi summarizes the conceptual framework of the exhibition with the following words: “The monster is neither good nor evil, neither inside nor outside, neither the self nor the other. It always exists at the boundary—transgressive and transformative. Its most important characteristic is that it directly determines the category of the ‘human,’ drawing the limits of what we define as human. The figure of the monster reminds us of the fragile structure of ‘normality,’ which can crack at any moment.”
One of the exhibition’s sources of inspiration is feminist theorist Donna Haraway. “As Haraway suggests, only when we acknowledge that we are monsters can we create a more equal and just world—one without divisions of gender, race, species or class—and realize the ‘promises of monsters,’” says Hamzaçebi.
Situated within the nature-immersed landscape of Uskumruköy, Hara offers a powerful alternative for those looking to step away from the city center and open space for reflection. The Promises of Monsters invites visitors into precisely such a setting—an encounter where boundaries dissolve, identities transform and the possibility of a different future begins to emerge.
The exhibition is on view at Hara from March 1 to July 26.
