Resource Utopia Book
Design Studio
16×22CM. 112 Pages
2018
The catalogue and book of the exhibition Resource Utopia-Utopie Als Quelle, produced by Burak Dikilitaş and Sevinj Yusifova, originated from the same-named cooperative workshop that was designed and sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Istanbul. Organized and led by Michael Biedowicz, Volkan Kızıltunç, and Andreas Rost, the workshop was focused on long-term photography and video work, with the outcome exhibited in an exhibition at Istanbul's Elgiz Museum from November 14, 2018, until January 12, 2019. The accompanying publication includes essays by Volkan Kızıltunç, Andreas Rost, Ezgi Bakçay, and Rafet Arslan, placing the visual works in broader discussion of utopia, dystopia, and speculative futures.
The book's aesthetic employs a stripped-down grid system and monochrome color scheme, coupling harsh black-and-white structural elements with full-color photographic matter. The opposition is employed as a visual metaphor for the war between utopian ideals and dystopian realities—a core theme of the project. The disciplined geometry of the layout repeats the workshop's attention to systematic, extended observation, but the photographs disrupt this regime, hinting at environmental and social narratives' unpredictabilities. Uncoated cardstock was used for its earthy, tactile quality, continuing to ground the conceptual conversation in materiality, and the absence of printed text on the cover directs attention to the embossed title—a subtle but insistent nod to the project's speculative nature.
PUBLISHER: NOKS Independent Art Space
COORDINATION: Goethe-Institut Istanbul
LANGUAGE: German & Turkish
TYPEFACE: Inter by Rasmus Andersson
PAPER: Munken Polar 120gr.
PRINTING AND BINDING: Print Center, İstanbul
PRINT RUN: 300
