The timeless garden of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums becomes a stage for modern art’s powerful and thought-provoking voice. Sculptor Nilhan Sesalan’s exhibition, The Trace Remains, I Disappear, pays homage to the profound atmosphere of this space. The artist’s description of the museum as a “therapeutic space” reveals that this exhibition is not just a display but also a reflection of a personal journey.
Presented as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “100+2 Temporary Museum Exhibitions Project,” the exhibition brings together three monumental works by Sesalan, created in 2025, set against the historic backdrop. Each sculpture, standing 3 meters tall and crafted from carved stone, stainless steel, and welded materials, carries traces of both the past and the future. Sesalan focuses on the theme of “the disappearing self and the enduring trace,” drawing from the thoughts and processes embedded in her art.
Curated with the artistic consultation of art historian Hasan Karakaya, the exhibition weaves connections between memory, time, and existence through a trilogy of past, present, and future. Sesalan’s futuristic works reframe the museum’s narrative, which stretches from history to the future, in a contemporary language.
This unique exhibition invites all who wish to lose themselves in the traces of the past while hearing art’s voice reaching toward the future. You can witness this timeless dialogue at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums’ garden until October 31, 2025.
