Positioned at the intersection of urban space, social dynamics, and queer migration experiences, Holding My Drink in the Corner transforms concepts of belonging and orientation into a critical spatial practice. Based on the long-term research of Berlin-based artist Umut Azad Akkel and Istanbul-based curator Ozan Ünlükoç, the project meets the audience at Haus am Lützowplatz (HaL) in Berlin from June 13 to August 16, 2026. The project is not limited to indoor works intervening in the gallery space; it also maps physical boundaries and social hierarchies through a massive scaffolding installation that spills into the public sphere.
The conceptual backbone of the exhibition is built upon the reference of the Cretan Labyrinth from ancient Greek mythology. However, rather than a search for a physical exit, this labyrinth points to an experiment on the legibility of social codes and unwritten rules. Akkel and Ünlükoç question how even spaces claimed to be inclusive can produce new mechanisms of exclusion and hierarchical codes within themselves. By transforming the exhibition space into a labyrinth of corners, the concept of the “corner” takes on a dual function: as both a safe haven and a space of invisibility and erasure. This structural intervention does not only confront the viewer with the experience of exclusion but also forces a renegotiation of the individual’s fluid position between passivity and agency.
One of the most striking elements of the project is the massive scaffolding structure titled The Path, placed just outside the exhibition area. Originally exhibited at Tempelhofer Feld in 2021 in collaboration with Oyoun Kultur NeuDenken, this structure is reinterpreted and integrated into the current conceptual framework. Fed by the absurd and paradoxical perspective constructions of M. C. Escher and the artist’s experiences in Istanbul, this stair-filled structure functions as a concrete metaphor for social mobility, disorientation, and class/cultural hierarchy. The Path makes visible the bodily tensions faced by the queer migrant subject while navigating urban space, the boundary violations between public and private spheres, and the contradictions in the construction of the concept of “home.”
A conceptual continuation of the It/Ortada project carried out in Istanbul in 2024 with the support of the Goethe-Institut, this exhibition brings the discussion to the heart of Berlin—a city that is itself a massive labyrinth. Refusing to offer a purely aesthetic field of observation, Holding My Drink in the Corner positions itself as a platform for collective thinking that opens up discussions on opportunity inequalities in the triangle of migration, exclusion, and transformation, the invisible forces shaping urban life, and the spatial politics of queer existence.
Exhibition Details:
- Artist: Umut Azad Akkel
- Curator: Ozan Ünlükoç
- Venue: Haus am Lützowplatz (HaL), Berlin
- Dates: June 13 – August 16, 2026
- Key Themes: Queer migration, social hierarchies, and the spatial metaphor of the labyrinth.
