Curated by Alexandra Pace
July 2017, Blitz Residency Programme
During his residency at Blitz, Cihad Caner investigated the current concern of mass migration by focusing on the role of water. The world is witnessing some of the largest refugee flows since the Second World War. Meanwhile, water crises are highlighted as one of the most pressing global challenges. In this context, migration and refugee flows are increasingly explained in terms of water scarcity perpetuated by climate change. For example, the drought of 2007-2010 in Syria as one of the main causes of the ongoing uprising and subsequent civil war, and the Mediterranean sea becoming a subsequent mode of passage for the people who had to flee.
What Happens To The Geographical Borders When The Land Itself Moves? endeavours to reveal the ecological as well as political aspects of water.
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Cihad Caner (b. 1990) is an artist living and working in Rotterdam and Istanbul, who works primarily with photography, video, CGI and sculpture. Recent work focuses on the subjects of image culture; on ways the “other” is portrayed and the utilisation of objects in daily life, and different circumstances, such as war, resistance and immigration. Recently he has exhibited at V2_Unstable Media, Hong Kong Arts Center, AMNUA Museum, National Gallery of Iceland, Mother Gallery London, Bohai Galerie and EYE Film Museum. In 2016 Caner graduated with a Masters in Media Design and Communication, from Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam. Cihad Caner is the receipient of the Portfolio Review Blitz Residency Award