Hera Büyüktaşçıyan

The title of Hera Büyüktaşcıyan’s work Destroy Your House, Build Up A Boat, Save Life refers to the Epic of Atrahasis, an ancient Mesopotamian story in which a man builds a boat to survive a flood.

　　The carpet—an object that can be rolled up and carried in times of displacement—becomes a symbol of home. In this work, Büyüktaşcıyan reflects on the 1955 pogrom in Istanbul, when mostly Greek communities were violently displaced. The work speaks of fragility and survival, the pain of leaving, and the quiet strength in what people carry—memory, comfort, and identity.

　　Büyüktaşcıyan’s practice explores how memory and identity are shaped by nature, architecture, archaeology, and invisibility.