Of this place, Istanbul Modern. Im in turkeys biggest city, istanbul. In many ways, the story of istanbul is the story of the Bosphorus Strait, the waterway that divides the city and has made it a key Meeting Place for centuries. The brand new home of Istanbul Modern acknowledges this with an impressive open plan ground floor that connects the city with the water. And ive been given special access to the museum as the team make final preparations ahead of its opening. Any new museum needs a gifted architect to create it. And in the italian renzo piano, Istanbul Modern has hired one of the best. Because pianos renowned internationally for his elegant structures, such as londons shard, and cultural buildings, from the pompidou in paris to the whitney in new york, are his speciality. Which is why im so excited that hes agreed to guide me, via a video call, around his latest creation. Hello. I would love to get a sense. How do you approach designing a building like this . The first thing inspired by is the content, what youre doing. Youre making a museum. What is this for . A museum is a place for people. For people to get together, to stay together. And, you know, the other big thing, very important, is water. Before the building is built, you immediately think about water. You immediately think about the ships that are moving around. Then you start to think that, in some way, that building comes from the water. It was almost like a silvery fishjumping out from the water. Thats a lovely image. Another thing that is more social, is that if you make a building by putting the building on ground, you take it away from public space. So if you make the building fly, the ground floor will become a continuity with the city. If ijust switch around my camera, because as youre speaking we can get a sense, because youve obviously decided to have it glazed on both sides. Transparency is because, by lifting the building, you give back the ground floor to the city, to the community. In other words, the building becomes like a flying ship. Transparency is notjust aesthetic, its a social transparency, its about accessibility. So i think that people will come to this building, where you are right now. I hope they will come for art, of course, but they may probably come also for another reason, just for the fact that its so open, so luminous. Youve been speaking about it in the most elegant and eloquent fashion. So thank you, renzo. But i should explore this building. Ive only got a day, and i need to go and actually explore the building youve talked about so wonderfully, so i should probably ring off, but its kind of you to make so much time for us, thanks. Thank you. Thank you, alastair. Thank you. Enjoy. Renzo� s new building contains an enviable collection of International Modern art, which to westerners like me, may feel familiar. But what im hoping to discover is work by Turkish Artists and what it reveals about their national identity. So as the museum is making final preparations, ive been told that theres an artis who was born in istanbul but is now based in los angeles, whos having a really big moment internationally. Refik anadol� s rise has been meteoric. His spectacular high tech installations have wowed audiences across the world, and hes created astonishing backdrops for the grammys music awards. I want to peek behind the curtain, to meet this wizard of oz like visual magician. Ah, refik, youre here. How are you . Im good. Oh, this is. This is Something Else it feels like were in the middle of this kind of vortex. I know the piece is called bosphorus. Yes. So it feels very watery, like there are currents and a sort of tide around us. This is amazing. Thank you. Welcome to the data sculpture. Yeah. Data sculpture. Thats the term. 14 years ago, i coined the term data painting, the idea that one day data can become a pigment. And this pigment is not a pigment we know, that dries. This pigment shall be always changing, shape shifting based on the data stream itself. What are you referring to . What is the data youre using here . For me, data can be any form of information, but data can be also a form of memory, for example, nature. Right now, in this room, we are literally using a real time Weather Station which can sense the wind patterns, the speed, humidity, rain. So i like this idea of a live piece of art, and ijust like this idea of making invisible visible through art. So thats interesting because the data is coming in, and its real time. Yes. And you and your team make an artistic decision about how to express that data. Yes. And i think its not so different, if you remember the history of art. Lets remember monet. So when monet inspired from atmosphere, he was still, i think, imagining similarly, the atmosphere is an abstract form. But now we are using art, science and Technology Together to imagine new ways of creativity. So my heads spinning, really, after encountering bosphorus, being plunged into this water and wind, and theres no denying the drama of it. I can see why refik� s work is just so tremendously popular right across the world. He sees himself as being at the forefront of this new style, this new form of contemporary art, which is clearly ai generated. What i find quite interesting is actually how many Old Fashioned aesthetic choices still have to be made. There has to be a decision about how to visualise the data. The simple fact about creating an installation in a curved room with a mirrored floor to create the sense of infinity. So i find that quite heartening too, to have a sense that heres a work thats looking straight at the future, but it also has one eye, if you like on the Art Historical past. Refik� s work here may be linked directly to the bosphorus, but it relies on the backrooms of Silicon Valley in california, a few hours from los angeles, where he now lives and works. Decades earlier, another pioneering turkish artist was connecting east with west, and creating her own kaleidoscopic visual worlds. Fahrelnissa zeid is a central figure in the story of modern turkish art. But despite being born at the dawn of the 20th century, shes only being truly appreciated now. Yeah. Pleasure to have you here. Im meeting chief curator Oyku Ozsoy Sagnak to talk me through this zeids mesmerising and explosive masterpiece of swirling red and yellow painted shards. The first thing is that sort of sens of it being almost all encompassing. It feels like. Yeah. You could go into it. Its almost like this sort of net that you could get caught up in. But when you sort of take a step back, the way its been composed, it has these different zones. Theres a yellow part with very, very intricate almost thorny parts to it on the left. And then, in the middle, theres this kind of. This void. Yeah. This sort of black hole in the centre. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I know its called my hell. Yes. Whats she referring to . In fact, Fahrelnissa Zeid suffered from depression throughout her life. And while sitting in her studio one day, the movement of a fly catch her eye. And then she kind of felt that this movement reflected life. I mean, its a kind of inspiration for her. So, because all of these many different lines seem to interconnect and go away, and theres an almost random quality to it. But youre saying that on one level, the spark for that was seeing the random movements of a fly buzzing about the studio . Yes, absolutely. She also inspired from different elements. Like, you can see these mosaics, like from maybe byzantine or islamic art and architecture, the patterns from ottoman stained glass. With the kind of black leading in between . Yes. Tell me a little bit about her and thatjourney that comes, ultimately, into this. She was born in 1901 into a very aristocratic ottoman family, and she was one of the first turkish women to go to the art school. In 1928, she travelled to paris, where she studied with the cubist artists. So she was part of the International Avant garde movement, and she kind of defined herself with this cosmopolitan culture. And she got the influence with a variety of cultures, not only the ottoman, turkish, but also mediterranean, all these cultures. She makes all the influences of the abstraction combined with her rich heritage. But in a way, this is her unique vocabulary. I mean, you can see how she expressed her feelings, creating this very unique universe. So what happened . Because she kind of, like, drops off the map from that western centric kind of perspective. Ithink. She was a woman, and she was a muslim, but she kind of came back to the map again with all these Women Artists we see all around the world. You can see all these, you know, brush strokes, and then with all these details of the lines, and the colours and the geometrical shapes. Its weird being this close with it, where you do feel youre completely enveloped by it, and it gives you a sense of it. Proliferating out infinitely as shes doing it, but presumably, as you sort of walk back. It� s quite amazing, isnt it, to sort of see. . Yeah, you see the scene is different, and now you see all this kaleidoscopic effect, and its kind of taking you inside of it. I think i prefer it from here. Me too. You need this distance, i think. You see all this constant movement, the energies, and that flowing. I mean, you feel this dynamism. We can find the optimum point to view it from. Well, youve deliberately placed it here, havent you, so that as people enter the gallery. Yeah. You know, that is what theyre seeing . Its kind of creating this mystifying effect. Yes. And because it has that slight vortex like quality. Yes. It� s kind of, youre wanting to. Get sucked into the room. Absolutely. Into the work. Im exploring Istanbul Modern� s sleek, low slung new waterfront home. Outside and in, there are dramatic pieces by International Artists at every turn. But what i want to discover is work by Turkish Artists, and what that can tell us about this countrys complex, beautiful identity. One contemporary turkish artist, whose work im keen to know better, is inci eviner, whos agreed to meet me at the museum. So here we are. Skinless. Yes, a kind of room for nomads. I try to create some kind of memory of this nomads imagination. They are brothers, siblings. They are waiting for dinner time. Patting their belly. And our table is ready. Whos underneath the table . It is my fear, actually. Its come from my childhood. My father was so serious, very authoritarian. It is forbidden to talk on the table. So there is strange things underneath of table. What are these creatures with the heads and the strange wing like bodies . It is the typical ottoman miniatures. And then you have more tiny people. Yes. My strange people walking and wandering around. Where does this imagery. I mean, do you dream it . This is who i am. I dont know. I dont know, but allow me to think about national identity, who i am, and what is this country . What kind of culture . I think theres this delightful energy to this piece, and all of these quite mischievous figures, in some cases, who are dotted around. There are many layers, Turkish Culture and modern period. I think youve got this play between here, the Modernist Architecture is the rational component. Yes, progressive. And then youve got these figures, who are doing. What did you call them . Your weird figures . Yes. Weird figures, every time, come from my mind, i dont know how. There are all of these other elements on top. I mean, theres a dog, and then every now and then you have this. What is it . Its like this kind of meteor, that flashes. There we go it looks like a wig. Wig, yes. What is that . This is the kind of symbol of sexual women, female image. Is it . For me. But, what i am looking for is something weird. I have to find something different. I am looking for, actually, to create some kind of world where all these different sources, different images, 19th century, 20th century, europe and western, all the local turkish images, come together. You sort of spoke about that your work has a playful quality. Yes. But also a painful quality. Its true. Mostly, i am interested to express the modern disappointment, for example, the girl in the egg shells, this is kind of shelter. In my imagination, this girl ran away from home. Shes, i guess, lost this direction. So all these modern projects failed. It was the future and it promised a better life. And youre saying, actually, thats not the story of the 20th century . Yeah, its true. Many dramatic things happen in turkey, especially recently. But at the same time, i needed some joy for the struggling. All of the turkish works ive discovered so far feel somehow enmeshed with this great, vibrant city of istanbul, which straddles the Bosphorus Strait and the last work i want to consider is no different. It was originally installed nearby, in an old dock warehouse. Its beautiful and intriguing, and a bit of a puzzle. The artist who made it, gulsun karamustafa, isjoining me on a video call. You can. You can see me, you can hear me . Yeah. Yeah, i can hear you. So youre in front of my work. Youre in istanbul, then . Yeah, im in istanbul. Were here at the modern. And this isnt a new piece, is it . It is from 1995. It was done for the istanbul biennale. Am i correct then in thinking that when you made the work for the biennial then, it was in the same part of the city thats now been redeveloped, and near where Istanbul Modern stands today . Exactly. And this was created in. Did you say in a depot, like a sort of Old Industrial building, a warehouse . It was this Working Harbour once. You know, ijust sat down for a while thinking and feeling the space. And then i found out that i am in the oldest Entertainment District of istanbul. This Red Light District was there since the byzantium times, since the genoan times, you know. It never changed, you know. So you have to imagine sailors arriving at the port. These are actually, like, these are nautical ropes that youve used for the installation. But instead of sails, theres actually these ribbons which youve tied to the ropes, many, many of them, in these wonderfully pretty, pastell powder pinks, and white colours. But each of them, im looking at the now, is stamped with what look like initials and a date. Actually, thinking of this Entertainment District, thinking of the sailors, thinking of the harbour and everything, i was listening to a very interesting Radio Programme then. It was the police radio, and every day there was an announcement, a long announcement about the girls who were lost around istanbul. And that was a long list. I wanted, very discreetly, to use the initials of these girls and the dates that they had been lost. Because in istanbul, when a girl is lost, it means that they end up in somewhere which is not very pleasant. Probably the bordell, you know. You mean they end up as sex workers . Yes. Sometimes. Somehow it ends up like this, you know. So you were making a kind of connection, youre fusing a sense of history of the place, over many centuries, with a almost documentary contemporary story about this aspect of society at the time . Exactly. And in the end, of course, it ended with these beautiful fluttery pink white ribbons, maybe they were wearing while they were in their primary schools, or, you know. Its a symbol of this purity and their lost days. Its very powerful. I felt really very moved actually, in the middle of the conversation. Its a really heartbreaking piece, this. Its wonderful to hear you talk about it. Thank you very much indeed. Its a pleasure for me to meet you. And all the best. Bye bye. Bye. That was quite an intense interview, actually. It doesnt look it, ostensibly. This is hard hitting, really, when you think about it. You know, you come up and youre quite beguiled by the prettiness of all of the colours. But when you realise whats going on the initials give you a sense of an individual. But we dont know who these women are, or sadly, in many cases, probably were. And its actually. It� s terribly affecting to see it. And i think that thats the hallmark of a really great work of art that manages to Say Something of true significance about a society while at the same time saying it in a manner that is pithy and readily understandable. This is not esoteric, strange, difficult to get, thanks to its simplicity and the commitment and sincerity of the artist whos made it. Its a thing that has enormously powerful, i think, powerful beauty, really. Its been a very rich visit. Its been very intense and immensely pleasurable. And theres a lot here that i already knew. I mean, there are clearly lots of big name familiar artists who are in the collection, and great to see them. But i was hoping to discover a lot more beside, and i think idid. This is a collection which focuses on the intricate story of modern and contemporary turkish art. And that story is so sinuous, so surprising, but also quite often, really affecting. As one artist, inci, put it to me, a lot of the stuff ive seen is as much painful as it is playful. And i think thats a good thing, because here you find something which is reflecting the complexities of the world as it is, notjust in turkey, but universal human experiences. And for me, thats what good art should always aspire to do. For more on Inside Museums and for our accompanying Inside Museums artist guide, go to bbc. Com. Hello. Friday was the first day of meteorological spring but it was also a day that winter refused to relinquish its grip. Here in northern ireland, enniskillen, seeing a fresh fall of fairly chunky snow. There were also some snowfall over the Peak District this is the cat And Fiddle Road road that goes between macclesfield and buxton its quite high up, but we had some problems reported on that, as well. Low pressure then has been across the uk, with this cold air mass in place. Weve got lots of showers at the moment, particularly across england and wales, northern scotland, and this band of rain and hill snow across parts of the far north of england and southern scotland. Now there is a chance of seeing a centimetre or two of snow across the cheviots, the north pennines, the Southern Uplands over the next hour or two, so it could get quite icy here. And also in the showers affecting the higher parts of wales again, above 200 metres elevation, you might come across an Odd Centimetre or two of snow across the high ground here. Temperatures getting close, if not below freezing in a few areas, so there will be a risk of a few icy patches heading into the first part of saturday morning. Then weve got this clump of more organised showers working across wales in the midlands well, they could have a bit of sleet or snow mixed in, probably struggling to settle, and quite a few of those showers will still have just cold rain. It is a day where showers will be really widespread on saturday, some of them with hail and thunder. And, although therell be a bit of sunshine between the showers, those sunnier moments, probably quite short lived. Temperatures below average, about 6 9 celsius. Now, the same area of low pressure stays with us through Saturday Night and into sunday. It will tend to drift northwards, tending to weaken somewhat. And so, of the two days of the weekend, sunday looks like its likely to be the better, in terms of weather. Should be a fair bit of dryer weather after a locally misty and foggy start to the day, a better chance of seeing some sunshine. Therell still be a few showers around, particularly for scotland and northern ireland, 1 2 for wales and western england, but bigger gaps between those showers and a bit more in the way of sunshine. It will continue to feel cool though, for the time of year. Into next week, low pressures continue to move in off the atlantic from the west, but theyre running into this area of High Pressure thats centred over scandinavia. And so, well get something of an East West Split with the weather. For western areas, it stays quite cloudy with the threat of further outbreaks of rain. Eastern areas tending to become drier, sunnier, and a bit milder, as well. Thats the latest, bye for now. Live from washington, this is bbc news. President biden says the us will air drop aid to gaza, as the International Outcry grows over this weeks deadly incident involving Food Delivery to the area. Crowd chanting navalny Crowds Outside Moscow chant the name of alexei navalny, the late opposition figure who was buried on friday. More than 100 people were arrested for marking the occasion. And, the bbc gets rare access to iran, which is holding its first round of elections since nationwide protests in 2022. Im helena humphrey, good to have you with us. Us President Joe Biden has signalled he hopes to see a deal for a ceasefire in the israel gaza war in time for the start of ramadan, which is set to begin in about ten days. Earlier this week he said he thought monday would be a reasonable deadline. Mr biden� s latest comments come as he announced plans on friday to order a Us Military Air drop, to get food and aid supplies into gaza in the coming days. The air drops will be co ordinated with the jordanians, who have been at the forefront of efforts to send assistance to gaza by air. President biden� s announcement comes after more than 100 palestinians were killed on thursday and more than 700 were injured as crowds formed around an aid convoy in northern gaza, desperate for food. Witnesses say the israeli army shot into the crowd
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