all familiar, all foreign

Yelta Köm’s solo exhibition all familiar, all foreign will take place at Versus Art Project between 21 March – 30 April 2023. Curated by Ulya Soley, the exhibition brings together works produced by the artist using different media such as photography, video, sculpture and text. Conceived as a speculative archaeological site, the exhibition proposes new ways of constructing the world and offers alternative tools for thinking about the future.

The installation in the main exhibition space, which focuses on the memory of digital footprints, is a glitch in everyday life, a rupture that alters the perception of reality. The objects placed on a background that resembles a digital topography, make visible the journey of each new page clicked, photo shared or e-mail sent. The poems that appear in different media evoke a fictional future in the post-human era, where emotions that we think are unique to humans are attributed to machines. This fictional world is enriched by divinities and nonscientific rituals reflected in the images derived by the algorithms. The multilayered video, which brings together the artist’s videos focusing on the change and transformation of the urban image, is exhibited in the form of a multi-channel installation. Through the works that problematize the relationship between technology and power structures, the exhibition becomes a space where everything feels simultaneously familiar and foreign.

“all familiar, all foreign: You are in an infinite background, at a place with no date. Your phone is unable to get the satellite signals; already lost its function. None of the imagery that represents the earth is realistic. Your location is not to be found on maps. All familiar objects are now in your memory. You find yourself getting emotional about digital tools. This is an archeological site of the future. Here, you are constructing the future.”