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In the early 1990s, Alptekin grew fascinated with the cheap hotels that began appearing in Istanbul’s Laleli and Tarlabaşı neighborhoods. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, these districts rapidly transformed under an influx of migrants and black-market merchants, many from post-Soviet states and the Balkans. Alptekin created the artworks shown here based on photographs he took of the hotels’ signage, which he considered emblematic of how local visual cultures absorb and reflect global forces. Referencing distant cities, the signs evoke a traveler’s longing for places left behind and dreams of destinations yet to be reached, while also recalling Istanbul’s extensive history as a cosmopolitan crossroads.
209: Things Are Wandering, 2026
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Things Are Wandering
Gallery 209The close of the 20th century ushered in an era of unprecedented global connectivity. Following the end of the Cold War, former Soviet Bloc countries began to participate in international markets, while free trade agreements accelerated the circulation of goods, capital, and people around the world.
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