Stay Safe by Volkan Aslan at SALT Galata

Published for the first time in Varlık magazine on Jan. 15, 1936, renowned short story writer Sait Faik Abasıyanık offers a glimpse into the world of an orphan named Trifon in his story "Stelyanos Hrisopulos Gemisi" (The Stelyanos Hrisopulos).

The 12-year-old Trifon lives on an island with his fisherman grandfather Stelyanos. He doesn't like the earth but respects it since it protects many of his loved ones. Instead, he finds refuge in the sea. Not going to school, his everyday occupation is making a new toy ship with whatever material he has on hand. One day, Trifon builds a ship almost the size of himself and names this masterwork after his grandfather. Even though the ship that he floats for days eventually sinks due to stones thrown by a group of jealous children, Abasıyanık highlights the importance of never giving up hope to find happiness and freedom.

Picking up where Abasıyanık left off in his story, "Stay Safe" presents a multifaceted narrative about water both as an element and an image.

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In "Stay Safe," the third exhibition of SALT's The Sequential program, artist Volkan Aslan refers to the challenges facing Istanbul, and the volatile moods shaped by the contemporary political climate.

In the works, which extend from the roof of SALT Galata to the exhibition space on floor -1 and from there to the street, water indicates the desire to resist being still and to be free. It is also associated with the heavy legacies that the past imposes on the present.

At the center of the exhibition are the films "Sağlıcakla Kal" (Stay Safe, 2021) and "En İyi Dileklerimle" (Best Wishes, 2019), based on an imaginary correspondence between two friends. Despite their monophonic nature, these letters,whose author and...