
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">There are times when the world slows down, there are places where silence isn’t empty but alive. On certain beaches, the shoreline transforms into something more than sand and sea temporary installations that invite people to shed pretense and step fully into themselves. Lalin Akalan reminds these moments with her summer picks. </h2>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?&nbsp;</strong></p>



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<p><strong>Define a perfect sunday on summer days.</strong></p>



<p>A book, and a shade &#8211; where silent beaches become temporary installations.</p>



<p><strong>Your favorite summer destination?</strong></p>



<p>Ibiza &#8211; where people can be unapologetically themselves.</p>



<p><strong>Sunrise or sunset?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Sunrise! Waking up early at festival site and gazing out.</p>



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<p><strong>Best summer outfit?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Simple linens. Jewelery hacks! Patterns &amp; healthy fabrics.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Favorite summer food?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Fresh fish and cured fish!&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>An artwork that reminds you of summer.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Hard to pick one so, I have two pieces in my mind: A la Plage, Joan Miro. Somewhere between solid and dreamy this painting reminds me the power of the sun.</p>



<p><strong>Show us your summer selfie.</strong></p>



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HOTLIST: Lalin Akalan


<p><strong>What happens when Italy’s two greatest performances share the same stage? Few countries stage excellence the way Italy does. From the poetry of football to the precision of tailoring. Now Juventus steps off the pitch in Giorgio Armani, dressed not for the match but for the gaze. The match may be limited to ninety minutes, it’s short lived and spontaneous. Looks aren’t part of the game. However off-pitch, the impression a sharp suit leaves in people’s minds is timeless. There’s no debate on that. </strong></p>



<p>Once the sweat of the game is gone, the suits remain. Juventus will be shining with their Armani designed relaxed hybrid suits, relaxed trousers, deconstructed jackets, crisp polos, cashmere overskirts. Sharp, composed, iconic in Armani’s midnight blue.</p>



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<p>It wouldn’t be the first time for Juventus to collab with a couture genius. They have flirted with fashion before but those were soft touchpoint compared to this. In 2013, Trussardi crafted the team’s formalwear for several seasons, and more recently Loro Piana held the sartorial reins. Armani’s arrival doesn’t break the pattern it elevates it. This isn’t just another luxury partnership, it’s the latest chapter in Juventus’ quietly curated wardrobe.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When two Italian icons collide, you don’t just watch the game, you watch the mise-en-scène. The performance doesn’t end at the sound of the whistle. Beyond the pitch, the performance continues. Two great performances in one go.</p>


When Two Italian Icons Collide: Juventus x Armani


<p><strong>Ever felt like the mess you left behind in your hotel room can be turned into a medium for art?  Sophie Calle surely did. On the 16th of February, 1981 she started working in a Venetian hotel as the chambermaid. She worked there as part of her project which will then be called <em>the Hotel</em>. And for three weeks she was the chambermaid assigned with twelve rooms of said hotel. However she had a secret agenda: She would be going through people’s stuff- their journals, bags, wardrobes, taking photos of their unmade beds, of the mess they left behind, trusting the secrecy of the maid. Little did they know it would turn into a well-known photo book by the one and only Sophie Calle. </strong></p>



<p>Blurring the lines between exclusive hospitality and incognito surveillence, she took photos as the chambermaid like a private investigator. Subjects, people who stayed at those rooms weren’t exposed but their most intimate stuff were. Which makes one think about the power the camera and the <em>shooting</em> principle withholds: Can the simple act of pointing a camera transform someone into an authority? </p>



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<p>It’s impossible not to think about the inversion of power dynamics in <em>the Hotel</em>. The photographer’s weapon is their camera. The act of shooting is the killing itself. And the camera is the mirror for the truth, a reflection of the unsaid, the hidden. A chambermaid is the silent one, the anonymous one. They’re the ones who clean up the mess: The ones who get rid of the traces people leave behind. In this equation they are the weaker link. This bubble of secrecy bursts open with the flash of a camera. The chambermaid, Sophie Calle, is granted authority by holding the camera in her hands and exposing people’s dirt, mess and secrets -one by one, room by room…</p>



<p>Calle is known for her usage of voyeurism in her work. In a way, her work can be seen as feminist activism. Twisting the patriarchal input of women being the idealized muse by pointing her camera towards her subjects, or in this case their objects. She stalked Henri B. In <em>Suite Venetienne,</em> found an address book and contacted the people listed inside in <em>the Address Book</em>, shot people while their sleeping in <em>the Sleepers</em> and captured hotel guests’ belongings in the Hotel. The prey, the muse, the saintly woman figure became the predator with her weapon, the camera.  </p>



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<p>There’s double power inversion in the Hotel. Dynamics are shifted both in this project itself and in Calle’s work in general. The chambermaid shifts into being the authoritative figure exposing people’s secrets. The one who should be cleaning up traces and forget about the stuff she sees becomes the withholder of their secrets. She becomes the one who knows rather than the one who cleans. Knowledge is the biggest power, after all, and using this power makes one the authority. The other shift in power dynamics is the male gaze being used by the woman herself. </p>



<p>Patriarchy deemed women to be the one who should be silenced, what Calle does breaks this idea as a whole: Exposing the hidden truths and using them in her art. The stalked becomes the stalker, the chambermaid becomes the twisted investigator, the photographer becomes the voyeur… And through this twisted work, she gives us a hole in the door to sneak in and take a look. And if you find her work to be over-exploitative that crosses the ethics of art, admit to yourself that you still enjoyed it. And really who is to blame? You knew exactly what the book portrayed, but still read it.</p>


Her Camera, Her Weapon: Sophie Calle’s Power Games in the Hotel


<p><strong>On Aegean coast, where the horizon melts into a canvas of endless blue, summer begins. Here we are with Barış Çetin. It is a world of languid afternoons and salt-kissed air. Refined, restrained, uncompromising. For him, sunrise belongs to the rhythm of dance, while sunset is claimed by the quiet ritual of drinking.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?&nbsp;</strong></p>



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<p><strong>Pick a place and a occasion that are part of your annual summer routine?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>My summers always begin on Turkey’s Aegean coast what I consider the most beautiful sea — all blue horizons and slow afternoons.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Favorite cocktail?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>I’m not much of a cocktail boy — no room for extra calories. Just vodka on the rocks, Beluga or Haku. If I really have to commit, make it a vodka martini.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Sunrise or sunset?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Sunrise if I’m dancing, sunset if I’m drinking &lt;3&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Best summer outfit?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Havaianas in the city — paired, of course, with blue jeans.&nbsp;</p>



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<p><strong>Favorite summer food?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Watermelon, Turkish feta and rakı, an unbeatable trio!&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Best spot to take summerish shots?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>On deck, sun glasses on. Little wind would help too !</p>



<p><strong>Bodrum or çeşme?</strong></p>



<p>Bodrum, without a doubt. I grew up spending my summers there. I love Çeşme too, but never in high season!&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Show us your summer selfie!</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1365" src="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-1024x1365.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-68897" srcset="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-1024x1365.jpeg 1024w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-360x480.jpeg 360w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-680x907.jpeg 680w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1-16x21.jpeg 16w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9-1.jpeg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>


HOTLIST: Barış Çetin


<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>From Mykonos to Milos, Duygu’s summer is a tasting menu of lived sunsets and salt-kissed days. The magic is hidden in small ritual; fun, carefree, yet deeply tied to the rhythms of the Mediterranean. No wonder she’ll happily trade a cocktail for a scoop of stracciatella! HOTLIST: Duygu Özaslan continues with childhood memories and dreams dipped in blue waters.</strong></h2>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?</strong></p>



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<iframe title="Spotify Embed: 90s kid holiday resort" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="352" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5FWBKJNsZweGYLs9UuVCoU?utm_source=oembed"></iframe>
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<p><strong>Favorite summer destination?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>From Mykonos to Milos&#8230; Greek islands, fun and serene, basically my summer personality.</p>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?</strong></p>



<p>I&#8217;ll give you a playlist instead. Childhood memories compilation, pretty self-explanatory.</p>



<p><strong>Sunrise or sunset?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Sunset. Always. Any time of the year. Gives me all kinds of chills.</p>



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<p><strong>Favourite summer outfit?</strong></p>



<p>Summertime is for mixing, matching and having fun.</p>



<p><strong>Favorite summer food?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Seafood and snacking on olives while sipping champagne! My Mediterranean menu.</p>



<p><strong>Bikinis or one-piece?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Nothing beats a jet2 haha, a cute bikini set.</p>



<p><strong>Cocktails or ice cream?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Can&#8217;t say no to Skinos but if I have to choose, I might pick stracciatella over everything.</p>



<p><strong>Show us your summer selfie</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1280" src="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-1024x1280.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-68877" srcset="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-1024x1280.jpg 1024w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-360x450.jpg 360w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-680x850.jpg 680w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-16x20.jpg 16w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-1200x1500.jpg 1200w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Q10-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>


HOTLIST: Duygu Özaslan


<p><strong>“Ahãma. In Lycian, means beloved.”</strong> <strong>That was our first sentence at Günlüklü Bay. On the turquoise coast, by the protected sweetgum forest, we glide toward a new living space embraced by nature. This is where the balance between blue and green is preserved, a place that symbolizes love for nature. The sacred sweetgum trees, revered by locals, remain uncut; pathways curl around them, and fallen trunks are left as they are. Home to rare examples of sweetgum trees found in only a few places in the world, the forest welcomes Ahãma—a living space far removed from traditional hotel concepts.</strong></p>



<p>Its architecture fuses Tokyo’s wabi-sabi philosophy with the ancient soul of Lycia; neutral tones and natural materials take the lead. No structure stands apart from nature. The tranquility of togetherness can be felt with every step. The landscaping, crafted by Spanish landscape architect Álvaro Sampedro and Gabriela Palatchi’s creative team, deepens your experience with nature. Every detail has been carefully considered. Look around, and no structure feels separate from its surroundings.</p>



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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1365" src="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-1024x1365.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-68861" srcset="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-1024x1365.jpeg 1024w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-360x480.jpeg 360w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-680x907.jpeg 680w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-16x21.jpeg 16w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-1200x1600.jpeg 1200w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-23-at-22.35.38-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
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<p>Mexican architect Héctor Esrawe has designed the “Temple of Sound” nestled in the forest. Each day at 3 p.m., the temple invites you to a “Sound Journey.” This ritual transforms your time dedicated to nature into a deeper understanding. Every step at Ahãma is designed to awaken body and mind. Begin the day with morning yoga, renew your spirit with breathwork facing the bay.</p>



<p>Ahãma’s philosophy of presence extends into its restaurants, which focus on Aegean traditions. With a “farm-to-table” ethos, dining becomes a ritual of healing.<br>In this living space that honors the ancient Lycian culture at every turn—calling it a hotel would hardly do justice—time slows down, and you remember you are part of nature. This place reminds you that summer, above all, means reuniting with the natural world. To feel the sun on your skin, to merge your rhythm with the blue of the sea, to breathe in the shade of sweetgum trees, but most of all, to listen to the birds… To watch swans and ducks gliding in the water, to follow squirrels darting past as you sit on the shore—it will do you good.</p>



<p>For your rendezvous with nature this summer, you have a new address: Ahãma.</p>


A hotel or, a ritual of nature?


<p><strong>Back in the early days of the console wars, owning a PlayStation wasn’t just about gaming but a fever dream of the after-hours, tucked between MTV broadcasts and the allure of midnight piracy. In the &#8217;90s and early 2000s, before every piece of advertisement was filtered through an algorithmic focus group, Sony had a different idea in mind. Early PlayStation commercials were definitely a case of their own. When a console ad features a man confessing that he’s led a double life, or a talking duck inside a portal, you know you’re in freaky territory. PlayStation commercials were the weirdest teenager in the family, and I&#8217;m loving every second of it!</strong></p>



<p>The late-‘90s advertising landscape was anarchic, full of brands eager to push boundaries for attention, even if they didn&#8217;t always know how to do it effectively. Imagine a time where Pepsi thought it would be a good idea to give away a Harrier jump jet worth millions of dollars. It was the actual wild west: no rules, no filters, no apologies. I can’t stress enough the surrealness of mainstream advertising at the time: wild, often absurd and definitely untethered to reality.</p>



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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1025" height="1281" src="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BASEDISTANBUL_PLAYSTATION2_4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-68827" srcset="https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BASEDISTANBUL_PLAYSTATION2_4.jpg 1025w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BASEDISTANBUL_PLAYSTATION2_4-360x450.jpg 360w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BASEDISTANBUL_PLAYSTATION2_4-680x850.jpg 680w, https://cms.basedistanbul.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BASEDISTANBUL_PLAYSTATION2_4-16x20.jpg 16w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1025px) 100vw, 1025px" /></figure>
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<p>PlayStation’s early ads fit perfectly into this chaos, but with a twist: they didn’t pander to the mainstream. Where Pepsi’s stunt was winking at suburban youth, Sony’s campaigns embraced club culture, industrial design and countercultural angst. Before the internet and social media homogenized marketing, a game console&#8217;s commercials could be provocative and edgy but still make the cut for prime-time advertising.</p>



<p>This curated universe captured attention, and when the PS1 arrived in 1994, it changed gaming&#8217;s demographic. It ditched cartridges for cheap CD-ROMs and invited third-party developers to experiment with 3D worlds. This wasn&#8217;t just for kids, and Sony was eager to get the message across. One ad captured this ethos better than any design brief.&nbsp; Over a minute, nineteen everyday people confess to commuting, doing &#8220;hoi polloi&#8221; jobs, then living violent, morally dubious, and ecstatic lives after dark. The script ends with the tagline “Do not underestimate the power of PlayStation,” and the spot quickly became the most awarded commercial of 1999/2000. Marketing scholar Scott Steinberg praised its ability to transcend advertising, noting that the film’s casting and dialogue “capture every man’s desire to transcend the boundaries of mundane life” In other words, the PS1 tapped into the escapism culture we know today. Just like that, PlayStation got the reputation as gaming&#8217;s punk movement.</p>



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<p>Sony’s willingness to hand its brand to directors turned commercials into miniature art films.&nbsp; David Lynch directing a console ad sounds like an internet meme, but it actually happened. In 2000, he made &#8220;Welcome to the Third Place,&#8221; a monochrome PS2 commercial filled with flames, glowing women, organ-like objects, and a talking duck. A write-up of the ad notes that Lynch &#8220;crafted a fragmented narrative where the boundaries between reality and the virtual world were blurred,&#8221; featuring &#8220;bizarre characters&#8221; like a floating head and a fiery woman. The aim was to convey gaming as a hallucinatory journey rather than a product demonstration. Lynch was the only person who could communicate such a message, and he certainly did.</p>



<p>Lynch wasn’t the only director to bend reality for PlayStation tough. Print ads for the PS2 referenced Trainspotting, The Matrix, and Requiem for a Dream, juxtaposing mundane life with surreal abstractions. One controversial flyer distributed at Glastonbury in 1996 declared the console “More Powerful than God,” foreshadowing Sony’s taste for subversive slogans. The underlying premise was simple: real life is boring; PlayStation is a portal to uncanny realms.</p>



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<p>What made these commercials feel so radical was their embrace of dream logic. They didn&#8217;t summarize a game or list features; they evoked moods and let viewers project their own fantasies. Today’s ads, constrained by social‑media attention spans, rarely allow such digressions. Even Lynch recognized the cultural shift. In a 2008 interview, he railed against watching films on phones, saying: &#8220;You&#8217;ll think you have experienced it, but you&#8217;ll be cheated. It’s such a sadness, that you think you’ve seen a film, on your f**king telephone. Get real!” His rant wasn’t just about screen size; it was about the context in which we consume art.&nbsp;</p>



<p>So ask yourself: When was the last time an ad felt memorable? No, really, ask yourself, and you will find that it was not only AAA studios that gentrified art out of commercials, but also us, getting lazy with how we curate and consume. It&#8217;s honestly crazy to see how, despite having more access to creative tools than ever, creativity somehow keeps slipping out the door. Welcome to the modern day Schrödinger’s cat paradox.</p>



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<p></p>


PlayStation and the Art of Advertising Escapism


<p><strong>In a world that’s constantly online, being alone with yourself has become almost impossible. Between notifications, endless streams of content, and the algorithms pulling the strings of our lives, it’s harder and harder to focus and actually hear our own voice. Honestly, what did we even do before we were glued to our screens? Where did those small, quiet moments go? Castronomy invites you to remember them and to rekindle your curiosity for the unknown.</strong></p>



<p>The truth is, they never disappeared. They’re still right in front of our eyes, unfolding on their own. For eyes that have long been detached from reality, this is an invitation to return, one that has repeated itself every single year for centuries. If you recently caught a fleeting green streak across the sky, then you’ve already met them: the Perseid Meteor Shower.</p>



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<p>Let’s clear something up: what’s falling isn’t actually stars. They’re mostly cosmic dust and rocks. For the curious ones; the shower takes its name from the Perseus constellation, and it’s created by the debris trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Regardless of the details, one thing’s not up for debate: watching a meteor shower is pure magic.</p>



<p>This year, we were lucky enough to witness the Perseids thanks to a collaboration between Castrol and National Geographic. “Wait, what do you mean?” you might ask. That’s where Castronomy steps in. It’s the background story that’s been at work for over 60 years, making technologies possible in everything from NASA’s Apollo missions to the Mars Rovers, from the Space Shuttle Program to the International Space Station. Pretty cool, right?</p>



<p>And so we’re left with only a couple of questions: “How many wishes can I make for each shooting star?” or “Where should I look in the sky to see the most?” Maybe the answers don’t matter as much as the questions themselves. Because it seems like right now is the perfect time to dream.</p>


Perseids, Castronomy, and the Art of Wonder


<p><strong>When you start walking through Arter’s halls, you first feel the weight of silence. Then you realize: this silence is one of anticipation, tension, and endurance. <em>Under Pressure, Above Water</em> makes you experience exactly what its title suggests, both physically and emotionally: the effort to stay afloat under pressure, the will to survive, and resilience…</strong></p>



<p>The exhibition unfolds almost like a rhythm. As your eyes move from one work to another, your sense of time and space shifts; each piece breathes on its own, creating its own cadence. Michaël Borremans’ canvases or Alicja Kwade’s spatial installations bring together both physical and mental pressure. Curated by Nilüfer Şaşmazer, this experience brings 15 artists from different disciplines under one roof, teaching the audience both how to be shaken and how to remain standing.</p>



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<p><sub><strong>Claire Fontaine İsimsiz</strong></sub></p>
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<p class="has-text-align-right"><sub><strong>Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Kusursuz Suçlu</strong></sub></p>
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<p>Another dimension of the exhibition is its emphasis on collective and social memory. From Shilpa Gupta to Mariana Vassileva, the artists address not only individual but also collective stories of pressure and resistance. Each work feels like a drop that manages to stay on the surface of water; small yet powerful, fragile yet resilient. Blending with Arter’s architecture, the exhibition teaches the viewer not only to look, but also to feel. As you move from one room to the next, you realize how difficult, yet how precious, it is to stay afloat. Each piece, like a gently striking wave, both surprises you and reminds you of your own breath, your own resilience.</p>



<p><em>Under Pressure, Above Water</em>&nbsp;acts as a kind of meditation against today’s chaotic tempo and the pressures of both individual and collective life. Perhaps staying afloat is difficult, perhaps the pressure is heavy, but aesthetic resistance, beauty, and awareness are always possible.</p>



<p>This exhibition is created not only to be seen, but to be experienced. As you leave Arter’s halls, you rediscover the tremor of a drop on the surface, the rhythm of your own breath, and the bonds you form with your surroundings. To manage to stay on the water’s surface is perhaps life’s most aesthetic form of resistance… You are invited to experience water’s different effect at Arter until January 11, 2026.</p>


Basınç Altında Suyun Üstünde: Arter’de Zamanın ve Direncin Dansı


<p><strong>Jenna Ortega sadece ekranın değil, stil sahasının da yıldızı. “Wednesday” ile gotiğin karanlık, dramatik havasını benimsedi ve bunu günlük hayatına taşıdı. Siyahlar, danteller, dramatik silüetler… Ama tüm bu gotik klişeleri en modern ve cesur diliyle karşımızda.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Kırmızı halıda ya da sokakta, zaman ve mekan algısından uzak Jenna Ortega’nın kombinleri adeta bir şiir gibi… Zaman zaman sofistike, ama her zaman asi. Simone Rocha’dan seçtiği tül etek, yeşil bodysuit ile birleşiyor; gotik sadece karanlık değil, aynı zamanda ışık ve gölgeyle oynayan bir estetik haline dönüşüyor.</p>



<p>Jenna’nın tarzı bir davet niteliğinde. “Kendin ol, cesur ol, sınırları zorla.” Fotoğrafları, genç jenerasyonun gotik hayallerini yeniden canlandırıyor. Siyah bir etek, dramatik bir ceket, biraz dantel…&nbsp;</p>



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<p>Gerçekçi olalım. Jenna Ortega, hepimizi yeniden maaşı dantel, tül ve simsiyah parçalara gömmeye ikna ediyor. Bekledik. Scrollladık. Günaha battık. Sonunda Topshop ikinci geliş gibi dirildi. Ama bu kez İsa değil, Jenna sahnede. İnternet ona çoktan <em>goth mommy</em> tacını taktı, o da bir gülümseme, bordo bir ruj ve platin kaşlarıyla feed’i sahipleniyor.</p>



<p>Jenna Ortega, gotik modayı modern bir bakış açısıyla yeniden yorumlayarak, bu estetiği geniş bir kitleye tanıtıyor. Onun stil yolculuğu, gotik modanın sadece geçmişin bir parçası olmadığını, aynı zamanda günümüz modasında da kendine sağlam bir yer edindiğini gösteriyor. Ortega&#8217;nın bu dönüşümü, gotik modanın yeniden doğuşunun simgesi haline gelmiş durumda. Simone Rocha&#8217;nın 2025 ilkbahar koleksiyonundan yeşil bir bodysuiti ve siyah tül etekle kombinlemek mi devrim? Ya da nude bir elbisenin bordo rujla kusursuz uyumundan haber olduğuna eminiz. O zaman sıra sizde, bu sefer kırmızı halı değil ama Instagram feedleri başrolde.</p>


Gothic Fashion’s New Icon: Jenna Ortega


<p><strong>Hot take: holding a digicam in 2025 is basically wearing a neon sign that says, “I know vibes when I see them.” And no, I’m not talking about megapixels, HDR, or whatever AI sharpening filter is trending. I’m talking taste. The thing is, the 2000s never actually died. Y2K didn’t fade. It just went into hibernation until Gen Z opened the closet, found a pink Motorola Razr, and said, “Yeah… this still eats.” From low-rise jeans to wired earbuds, everything from the 2000s is cycling back, and the digicam is our shiny, pocket-sized time machine. Owning one isn’t just retro. It’s an all-access pass to permanent coolness.</strong></p>



<p>Anyone can whip out an iPhone, tap Portrait Mode, and spam their camera roll with 80 near-identical selfies. But that’s too easy. A digicam? That’s intentional chaos. You pick your moment, press the button, and pray the shot slaps. You’re not getting instant, Instagram-ready perfection. You’re getting crunchy, overexposed flashes of reality — and that’s what makes it art. And let’s be honest: the ritual is the point. The clunky sound when you turn it on. The grainy little preview screen. The suspense of waiting until you upload to your iphone or laptop to see if you blinked. It’s the anti-social-media mindset in a world drowning in FaceApp-smooth perfection. You’re not chasing likes in real-time. You’re building a memory bank for yourself first, the feed second.</p>



<p>Everyone is constantly online… Do not blame Gen Zs. Doomscrolling, posting, deleting, reposting, overthinking captions like our lives depend on it. But when you’ve got a digicam, you get a free pass to slow down. You stop living for the algorithm and start living for the actual moment. Suddenly, you’re not worried if the lighting is TikTok-approved. You’re catching messy laughter, blurry dance floors, and badly lit late-night pizza runs — stuff that’s too real for a curated feed but too good to lose.</p>



<p>Digicams are a rebellion against social media’s obsession with perfection. They’re proof that Y2K’s heart is still beating in every grainy pixel. And honestly? The 2000s were never dead. They just waited for us to be cool enough to appreciate them again. Real taste never goes out of style.</p>


Point, Shoot, Slay!


<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>For Ferhat Gündüzalp, summer isn’t about chasing clichés — though he admits he’s got at least one good sunset photo saved. Between quick escapes, inspiration trips to Tokyo and Seoul, and a well-mixed margarita, his season is all about keeping it effortless. Keep it simple… Escape whenever possible, get inspired along the way, and don’t overthink the rest.</strong></h2>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?</strong></p>



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<p><strong>Favorite cocktail?<br></strong>Definitely a margarita &#8211; it gets you tipsy faster.</p>



<p><strong>Your favorite summer destination?<br></strong>For a holiday, I escape wherever I can. Tokyo and Seoul are part of my usual route during the year, at least once to inspire.</p>



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<p><strong>Sunrise or sunset?<br></strong>Mmm… actually, I don’t feel a thing for either. But I have a sunset picture. I’ll call my therapist! Thanks for making me realize.</p>



<p><strong>Best summer outfit?<br></strong>My go-to summer look is all about combining different fabrics and attitudes</p>



<p><strong>Favorite summer food?<br></strong>Watermelon + ezine peyniri. name a better duo.</p>



<p><strong>Show us your summer selfie!</strong></p>



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HOTLIST: Ferhat Gündüzalp


<p><strong>Greatness often has an uncanny relationship with serendipity. One moment might feel awkward, even antagonistic; later it is recalled as a defining stroke of genius. Irving Penn and Miles Davis, creative titans in their own fields, met exactly in such a moment. What makes a photograph legendary? Is it the subject, the photographer, or the setting? Penn’s series titled “The Hand of Miles Davis” suggests that greatness can be held in the palm of a hand. It exposes the jazz legend’s weathered palm, raw and open to imagination, and ambiently translates music into photographic form. Want to talk about one of the most iconic album covers of all time?</strong></p>



<p>Penn is remembered as one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers. He came to photography almost accidentally after studying design and working in commercial art. At the start of his career, art director Alexander Liberman of Vogue taught him to use an 8 × 10-inch camera and allowed him to experiment on the printed page. Penn’s fashion photographs blended portrait and still life; he rejected elaborate settings and placed models against plain backdrops, isolating them so that their character could speak for itself. Over time, he applied this minimalist approach to portraits of artists, musicians, and writers, stripping away cultural associations to reveal personality. This approach resulted in a distinctive visual style that set Penn apart from his contemporaries.</p>



<p>His portraits often eliminate backgrounds or faces, isolating the subject from any anecdotal context to create a pure space for experimentation. Penn&#8217;s work blurred the boundaries between commercial assignments and fine art, weaving a personal vision through fashion campaigns, advertising, and travel photographs. From this sensitivity around form and gesture, &#8220;The Hand of Miles Davis&#8221; happened. An invisible trumpet played a mute jazz solo, one that can only be heard through your eyes.</p>



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<p>By 1986, Miles Davis had already reinvented jazz multiple times. He had spearheaded bebop in the 1940s, cool jazz and modal experiments in the 1950s, orchestral collaborations with Gil Evans, electric fusion in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and then retreated due to health issues. His comeback in the 1980s saw him employing younger musicians and pop sounds on &#8220;The Man with the Horn&#8221; (1981), &#8220;You&#8217;re Under Arrest&#8221; (1985), and &#8220;Tutu&#8221; (1986). In the official Miles Davis site&#8217;s retrospective, writer Ashley Kahn notes that the tracks on &#8220;Tutu&#8221; were created with Davis&#8217;s voice in mind, not merely as backing tracks; the record&#8217;s success owed much to this thoughtful collaboration. A food for thought.</p>



<p>On 1 July 1986, the two met at Penn’s New York studio for the cover shoot of “Tutu”. Miles Davis brought only a few things: a hairdresser, some golden jewelry, and his infamous attitude. Penn later recalled that when he attempted to greet his subject, Davis completely ignored him. This was a clash of two titans, Conflict was a natural response. After the hair and jewelry were arranged, the musician took his place before the large-format camera. The photographer and the trumpeter engaged in a terse dance of control and consent. According to Penn’s account in a 2004 Vogue feature, Davis teased: “I bet you want me to take this shirt off?” Penn replied, “Yep.” Davis continued, “I bet you want me to take all these gold chains off, too?” Penn again said, “Yep.” For about an hour they worked in silence, the camera recording variations on a face and a hand that had defined half a century of music.</p>



<p>Penn’s minimalism shaped the session. He stripped away props, jewellery, and even the musician&#8217;s shirt, isolating the silhouette against a seamless background. The resulting cover photograph is a stark, black-and-white close-up of Davis&#8217;s face, lit so that every wrinkle reads like a musical score. These pictures became an integral part of the music&#8217;s visual representation. Complementary images of Davis&#8217;s hands appear on the inner sleeve and disc label and are still highly sought after.</p>



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<p>At the end of the shoot, Penn thanked his subject. “He got up, came over to me, and kissed me on the mouth,” Penn recounted. “I didn’t know what to say. We shook hands, and he left. Later, I got the chance to know his music, and it struck me as being visual art of the most profound kind. How terrible I couldn’t share that with him then”Penn later said that after the shoot he went home and listened to Miles Davis’s music; “I was blown away by him,” he said in an interview. “That was it.”</p>



<p>The Tutu packaging, designed by art director Eiko Ishioka, won a Grammy for Best Album Package. The stark images by Penn, printed with platinum palladium richness, gave visual form to Davis’s abstract sound. How do you think creative tension yields profound art? In that studio on a hot July day, Penn coaxed from Davis. Serendipity, humility, tension, and trust all played their parts. But for Penn the kiss was all there is to remember.</p>


The Day Irving Penn Made Jazz Stand Still “Hand of Miles Davis”


<p><strong>Why Do We Act Like Influencers Even When We’re Not Getting Paid? Let’s be real. Scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, it feels like everyone’s out here living their best influencer life. Perfectly styled photos, quirky captions, daily “vibes,” and trendt video edits that took hours to make. But here’s the catch: most of us aren’t getting paid a dime for it. So why do we still act like influencers, posting and sharing like it’s our full-time job? The line between “influencer” and “regular person” has totally blurred. Thanks to smartphones and social media, everyone’s a content creator now. Whether you’re sharing your lunch, your workout, your latest outfit, or your random thoughts, you’re basically running your own mini channel. And that means you’re part influencer community, whether you like it or not.</strong></p>



<p>Why do we do it? Well, there’s something addictive about getting likes, comments, and those little emojis. It’s a tiny boost to our ego, a quick hit of social approval that makes us feel seen and appreciated. Even without a sponsorship deal, that digital applause satisfies all.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Posting on social media isn’t just about sharing what’s happening, it’s about showing who we want to be. We’re all storytellers, carefully picking what parts of our lives to put on display. Maybe we want to come off as adventurous, funny, or inspiring. Acting like influencers is just us controlling our own narrative and trying to make sure it looks good.</p>



<p>So yeah, even if there’s no paycheck involved, acting like influencers is just part of how we roll today. It’s about connection, creativity, and making sure we’re heard in a noisy digital world. Everyone’s a content creator now and whether you’re chasing followers or just sharing with friends, you’re playing the game in your own way.</p>


No Sponsorship Needed


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lal Bilgutay is living her Mediterranean summer all around, with very lace moves and tomato-filled tables. From waking up in her Bodrum home to chasing those magical sunsets, her days blend the warmth of village breakfasts, poolside hangouts, and the simple joy of delicious, fresh flavors. Here’s a glimpse into her sun-soaked, taste-rich season.</h2>



<p><strong>A song that reminds you of summer?</strong></p>



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<p><strong>Favorite cocktail?</strong></p>



<p>This summer began with Sangrias in Spain and continued with the ones I made at home. A lovely Piña Colada, on the other hand, takes me back to my childhood every summer… I can’t decide between the two.</p>



<p><strong>Define your perfect summer day?<br></strong><br>I wake up in my house in Bodrum and walk to the village breakfast spots in Dirmil. After a long breakfast that starts with a delicious börek, the day is completely dedicated to sunbathing with Emrecan and Canan, the pool regulars, plus whoever happens to be in Bodrum at the time. The whole day is spent by the pool or the seaside. In the late afternoon, mussels are ordered, and the day ends at a lovely fish restaurant.</p>



<p><strong>Favorite summer food?&nbsp;<br></strong><br>Delicious tomato salads, mezes, and gazpachos.</p>



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<p><br><strong>Bodrum or Çeşme?&nbsp;<br></strong><br>As a part-time Bodrum local, of course Bodrum.<br><br><strong>One irreplaceable thing in your summer bag?&nbsp;<br></strong><br>My Laura Mercier lip liner.<br><br><strong>Sunrise or sunsets?&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Of course, the sun dip. Especially on summer evenings, it’s something else… I always leave the house with a slight rush to catch that magical moment on my way to dinner. The sky is somewhere between orange and purple, the sea shimmers gently, and the city is slowly getting ready for the night. The most beautiful hours of summer.</p>



<p><strong>Best summer outfit?&nbsp;<br></strong><br>This summer, maybe because of Cekette’s new collection, I’m in love with everything about lace.<br><br><strong>Show us your summer selfie!</strong></p>



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<p><br><br></p>


HOTLIST: Lal Bilgutay


<p><strong>Lithuanian filmmaker Saulė Bliuvaitė’s feature-length debut <em>Toxic</em> (Akiplėša) captured global attention when it won the Golden Leopard at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival. As unsparing as a measuring tape and as sharp as high heels, the story looks at the exploitative fashion industry through the eyes of determined teenagers and paints a portrait of girls zigzagging between competition and friendship.</strong></p>



<p>The story revolves around Marija and Kristina, two teenage girls from the industrial outskirts of Kaunas. Bliuvaitė, places the body at the core of her vision, crafting a coming‑of‑age story that glows with compassion for the bruises of shortened adolescence. Marija, abandoned by her mother and living with her florist grandmother, and Kristina, a tougher, street‑wise girl, form an unlikely bond when they both sign up for a modelling agency. The price of their dream is steep: they stuff their mouths with cotton wool, skip meals and, in one shocking moment, swallow tapeworm eggs. The directory is shaped in a way that cuts from bicycle wheels in the fog to the father cavorting with his lady friend to disco music, creating a dreamlike, unexpected rhythm</p>



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<p>Despite the bleak subject matter, their friendship radiates warmth. Moving on from the devotion you cling to at 14 years old with trembling hands, bruised knees and smudgy eyeliner, a Letterboxd review summarized the whole thing as “a story of unrelenting cruelty told with such humanity and care.” The movie’s signature is definitely its coquette‑trashy‑Eastern Euro vibe. Phew, what a word that was. <em>Toxic</em> manages to confront harsh realities without losing its tender heart in a way that makes this unique perspective into a relatable one.</p>



<p>Bliuvaitė deliberately steers away from typical teen‑movie cinematography. In an interview she explained that she avoided the “constant zooming into faces” of most teenage films, insisting that the atmosphere and environment are as important as the characters. As a result, the camera roams through fog‑shrouded bicycle wheels, Soviet‑era cooling towers and the blue‑tiled walls of the modelling studio. The director drew inspiration from the documentary <em>Girl Model</em>, which follows real‑life model scouts, and from her own memories of Baltic schoolgirls being plucked from classrooms by modelling agencies. Some feelings from the pictures definitely stick in a haunting way;<em> </em>the “surgical lights” of the agency, Gediminas Jakubka’s electronic score amplifies the girls’ strained bodies, while slithering sound design evokes the tapeworm hiding in Kristina’s gut.</p>



<p><em>Toxic</em> refuses to moralise while confronting the dark side of the modelling world. Instead, it brings us close to Marija and Kristina’s inner lives. Rooted in the director’s own teenage memories, it exposes the wounds inflicted by beauty standards and consumer culture. It also shows how the idea of selling your body as an “escape” is born from a capitalist pressure that feels inevitable.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s a beautiful mix of poetry and brutality. You might want to look away sometimes, then immediately get warmhearted as Marija and Kristina embrace each other. With her Locarno win, Bliuvaitė is poised for wider recognition. Both familiar and foreign, harsh yet deeply human.</p>



<p>As we roll through the credits of this hauntingly beautiful world, we are inviting you to our playlist inspired by the movie:</p>



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