An Exhibition on Nature and Sustainability
January 13, 2016 – June 5, 2016

“TILL IT’S GONE” presents a selection of artists who undertake conceptual research on nature and focus on ecological issues in their artistic practices. The artists are from various generations and have intricate relationships with the concept of sustainability; they bring to bear diverse interpretations and insights pertaining to the interaction between human beings and the ecosystem. The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and moving images by twenty artists and art collectives from Turkey and other geographies.

Istanbul Modern launches the preliminary program of the exhibition on December 23, 2015, with Yoko Ono’s large-scale installation “Ex It”, which Ono describes as “life as a continuation”. Also on view is ikonoTV’s “Art Speaks Out”, an international video program exploring environmental issues, which premiered in conjunction with the UN Climate Conference COP21.

The bilingual (Turkish-English) exhibition catalogue includes images and texts about the artists and artworks in “TILL IT’S GONE” and three new essays proffering different perspectives on the premises of the show: following the conceptual framework of the exhibition by Çelenk Bafra and Paolo Colombo, the author, educator, and environmentalist Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute asks—and answers—the question of “why sustainability?”, and the art historian Dr. Roger Cook explores the relationship of nature and art in the context of the works in the exhibition in his article titled “Good Air My Friend: Art for the Anthropocene”.

Participants: Roger Ackling, Bas Jan Ader, Alper Aydın, Bingyi, Jasmin Blasco and Pico Studio, Charles A. A. Dellschau, Elmas Deniz, Mark Dion, Hamish Fulton, Francesco Garnier Valletti, Rodney Graham, ikonoTV “Art Speaks Out”, Lars Jan, Mario Merz, Maro Michalakakos, Joni Mitchell, Yoko Ono*, Camila Rocha, Canan Tolon, Pae White