14th Istanbul Biennial
SALTWATER: a Theory of Thought Forms

Curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
DATES: September to 1 November 2015
VENUES: Over 30 venues on the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus, from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.

The 14th Istanbul Biennial SALTWATER: A Theory of Thought Forms curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, presented the notion that “with and through art, we commit ourselves to the possibility of joy and vitality, leaping from form to flourishing life”, wrote Christov-Bakargiev. The exhibition she carried on to say, looked “for where to draw the line, to draw upon, and to draw out, through organic and non-linear forms that connect research in art with other knowledges. It does so offshore, on the flat surfaces with our fingertips, but also in the depths, underwater, before the enfolded encoding unfolds. A number of drawings, paintings, installations, films, objects, books, collaborations, and research-based events will be viewable as thought forms—waves or oscillating patterns of repeating and differing lines that structure and enfold all forms of transference of energy—from brain waves to shockwaves after an explosion, from sound waves and waves of water to electromagnetic waves of different lengths and frequencies, including radio waves.”

Liam Gillick, Hydrodynamica Applied, 2015. Photo by Sahir Ugur Eren.

Artists: Etel Adnan, Vernon Ah Kee, Haig Aivazian and Beyoğlu Üç Horan (Yerrortutyun) Armenian Church Asogik Choir, Meriç Algün Ringborg, Francis Alÿs, Ayreen Anastas, Song-Ming Ang, Giovanni Anselmo, Artıkişler Kolektifi, Ed Atkins, Sonia Balassanian, Annie Besant, Patrick Blanc, Karl Blossfeldt, Anna Boghiguian, Kristina Buch, Hera Büyüktaşçıyan, Janet Cardiff & George Bruce Miller, Taner Ceylan, Edgar Cleijne, Cansu Çakar, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Raimondo Tommaso D’Aronco, Charles Darwin, Tacita Dean, Elmas Deniz, Cevdet Erek, Esra Ersen, Bracha L. Ettinger, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Karl von Frisch, Rene Gabri, Ellen Gallagher, Émile Gallé, Fernando García-Dory, Theaster Gates, Liam Gillick, Arshile Gorky, Paul Guiragossian, Gawirrin Gumana, Djambawa Marawili, Boliny Wanambi, Gumuk Gumana, Mundukul Marawili, Mawalan Marika, Wandjuk Marika & Mawalan Marika, Wonggu Mununggurr, Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, Deniz Gül, Irena Haiduk, Pierre Huyghe, Emre Hüner, Richard Ibghy & Marliou Lemmens, William Irvine, Nikita Kadan, William Kentridge, Merve Kılıçer, Ufuk Kocabaş, Frans Krajcberg, Jacques Lacan, Liu Ding, Marcos Lutyens, Daria Martin, Fabio Mauri, Elena Mazzi, Cildo Meireles, Millirrpum, Djalalingba, Diambalipu, Djayila, Dundiwuy, Dhuygala, Raijyin, Manuna, Larrakan, Wulanybuma, Wawunymarra, Nyabilingu, Wonggu Mununggurr, Natjialma, Maw’ & Dhangatji Mununggurr, Waka Mununggurr, Nguyen Huy An, Senam Okudzeto, Füsun Onur, Emin Özsoy, İz Öztat & Fatma Belkıs, Orhan Pamuk, Society of the Friends of Parrhesia, Rupali Patil, Christine Taylor Patten, Jeffrey Peakall, Zeyno Pekünlü, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Susan Philipsz, Heather Phillipson, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Ana Prvacki, Walid Raad, Michael Rakowitz, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Cheng Ran, Marwan Rechmaoui, Georgia Sagri, Sarkis, Grace Schwindt, Wael Shawky, Robert Smithson, Ania Soliman, Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer (Thale Elisabeth Sørlie & Arne B. Langleite), Peter Tait, Pelin Tan, Leon Trotsky, Anton Vidokle, Adrián Villar Rojas, Lawrence Weiner, Andrew Yang, Pınar Yoldaş, Fahrelnissa Zeid