The “Transformation Festival” organized by the Istanbul Medeniyet University Sustainability Student Club (IMUSUS) and supported by the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports, hosted a unique exhibition that brought together art and sustainability. Twelve works, including 8 Polygonal Art Portraits and 4 PixelArt paintings created in the festival workshops, were presented to students and visitors. The exhibition was open to the public from June 10-12 at the Ziraat Bank Library Foyer Area in the Göztepe North Campus, and then from June 13-16 in the entrance area of the Biltam building.
The curation and artwork design of the exhibition were carried out by Ayça ÇELİKBİLEK, a research assistant at the Istanbul Medeniyet University Sustainability Office. All exhibited works were created through the upcycling of waste materials. The exhibition featured individual works by 8 participants who produced their pieces using the polygonal art technique by upcycling paper, as well as 4 collective works created by the student club using the pixel art method by upcycling plastic caps. Two of these works were created with the participation of club members as well as residents of Kadıköy and Bakırköy.
The Polygonal Portraits project, which focuses on the upcycling of paper, was designed to question whether cardboard bags, currently presented as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags, can actually create a similar waste burden due to excessive consumption. To this end, participants were first asked to bring cardboard bags from their homes to the workshop, enabling them to confront the amount of cardboard bags accumulating in their homes and question their excess usage. Thus, starting from the fact that everyone encountered a pile of cardboard bags in their homes at the beginning of the workshop, the importance of the reduction and reuse approach, which is the first step in waste management, was conveyed. In addition, information was shared that some cardboard bags are plastic-coated and cannot be recycled due to their composite structure. During the workshop, the colorful surfaces of these bags were used instead of paint to create eight portrait-themed works on waste cardboards.
Meanwhile, the PixelArt paintings were produced by upcycling plastic bottle caps collected by student club members from cafes on campus and from participants’ own living spaces and surroundings. Waste cardboard collected from markets was used as a base for the paintings. A total of 2,396 plastic bottle caps were upcycled during the production process, transforming them into four works of art. Some of the works in the exhibition were produced by community members, while others were produced with the participation of the local community at environmental festivals organized by the Bakırköy and Kadıköy municipalities. Sesame Street characters, which remind participants of their childhood, were chosen as the theme for the works produced from the caps. ÇELİKBİLEK stated that the Sesame Street characters were chosen based on the principle of meeting today’s needs without compromising tomorrow’s needs, saying: “Those who come to the exhibition today have to tell their children about these characters, which belong to our childhood and which we all know. If we do not solve the waste problem created by today’s consumption habits, in the future our children may only be able to tell their children about the birds and butterflies we often see in nature today. Because many of these creatures are facing extinction due to human-induced pressures.”
The “Re” exhibition was not only an artistic event but also a concrete awareness initiative aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals). As part of the university’s SDG-focused academic and social responsibility approach, the exhibition not only raised environmental awareness but also demonstrated the applicability of innovative methods in the field of sustainability. Participants experienced, through art, the efficient use of resources, how advanced recycling can be combined with creativity, and the importance of individual contribution to social transformation.
You can follow IMUSUS’ ongoing sustainable art projects on the @surdurulebilir_imu Instagram account and participate in workshops.
