Political Murals as Reflection of Cultural and Ideological Identity: The Case of Istanul’s Slum Neighbourhoods

This paper aims to trace the salient attributes of the selected slum neighbourhoods in Istanbul via political mural themes reflecting sociopolitical (i.e. particularly left wing) identitPhotographing and face-to-face interviews are used as a method held in 6 neighbourhoods due to their central location in Istanbul, which had a dissenting discourse and exhibited this prominence as visible in public spaces through writings and acts. The research was carried out during the architectural idea project carried out during 2015-2016, with open-ended interviews with 27 people who have had the opportunity to record their interviews within the scope of many home visits. Along this path, the issue is tackled on two parallel tracks. Firstly, the urban role of the murals is scrutinized by looking into the relationship between the content of the murals and their location in the urban realm. Secondly, murals are analysed in regard to the concept of consistency of political expression through different media. The practical usage and the view of urban open spaces as a process and product of architecture will be examined together with the cultural symbols drawn on the walls through textual and visual language. The rituals of the left wing political resistance and the ideas of the local communities against the government’s attitude towards the neighbourhood are materialized on the murals. This research intends to highlight the connections between the language on the walls and the identity of the residents of slums through an overlay of the language on the wall onto the language created by the use of open urban spaces.

Kültürel ve İdeolojik Kimliğin Yansıması Olarak Politik Duvar Yazıları: İstanbul Gecekondu Mahalleleri Örneği

Bu çalışma, İstanbul’daki seçilmiş gecekondu mahallelerinin göze çarpan niteliklerini, sosyo-politik (özellikle sol kanat) kimliğini yansıtan politik duvar temaları aracılığıyla incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. İnceleme yöntem olarak fotoğrafla belgeleme ve yüz yüze görüşme; İstanbul’daki merkezi konumları nedeniyle, muhalif bir söylemi olan ve bu sözü yazı ve eylemlilikler aracılığıyla kamusal alanlarda görünür olarak sergileyen, 1980’li yıllardan sonra ikinci gecekondu dalgasında gelişmiş direngen 6 mahallede gerçekleştirildi. Araştırma, 2015-2016 yılı süresince gerçekleştirilen mimari fikir projesi sürecinde, çok sayıda ev ziyareti kapsamında ancak röportajları kayıt altına alınma imkanı bulunan 27 kişiyle yapılan ucu açık sözlü görüşmelerle yürütüldü. Çalışma, duvar resimlerini politik ifade amacıyla “mimari yüzeylerin yerel mülkiyeti” perspektifinden açıklığa kavuşturmaktadır. Bu süreçte, konu iki paralel açıdan ele alınmaktadır. İlk olarak, duvar resimlerinin kentsel rolü, duvarların içeriği ile kentsel alandaki konumları arasındaki ilişkiye bakılarak incelenir. İkinci olarak, duvar resimleri farklı medyalar aracılığıyla siyasal ifadenin tutarlılığı kavramı göz önünde bulundurularak analiz edilir. Mimarinin süreci ve ürünü olarak kentsel açık alanların pratik kullanımı metinsel ve görsel dil ile duvarlara çizilen kültürel sembollerle birlikte ele alınıp incelenecektir. Sol kanattaki siyasi direnişin çabaları ve yerel toplumun hükümetin tutumuna karşı sahip olduğu fikirler duvar resimlerinde görülebilmektedir. Bu araştırma, açık kentsel mekanların kullanımıyla yaratılan dil ve duvarlardaki dilin örtüşmesinden yola çıkarak, duvarlardaki dil ile gecekondu sakinlerinin kimliği arasındaki bağlantıyı vurgulamayı amaçlamaktadır.

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