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17th
International Architecture Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
Pavilion of Turkey
22/05—21/11/2021
SALE D'ARMI, ARSENALE
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EPISODE1
THE BIRD
AND
THE DAM
NEMESTUDIO and the Curatorial Team
Published on
09/01/2021
Keywords
MORE-THAN-HUMAN, ENDANGERED SPECIES, ENVIRONMENTAL IMAGINATION
Image credits: NEMESTUDIO and the Pavilion of Turkey.
●1●2
Published on
09/01/2021
Keywords
MORE-THAN-HUMAN, ENDANGERED SPECIES, ENVIRONMENTAL IMAGINATION
THE BIRD
AND
THE DAM
NEMESTUDIO and the Curatorial Team

After flying for miles, the bird●1 gathered her breath as she perched on top of what seemed to be a mysterious fragment of an archeological artifact●2 belonging to an ancient dam structure.1 The bird sanctuary surrounding the artifact had been a permanent region for generations and every part of reed beds and rocks was memorable.2 But on this particular day, this unfamiliar ancient artifact emerging from the wet ground caught her eye, inviting pause. Despite a long and deliberate examination, the artifact seemed so foreign and unnatural that the bird could not even begin to fathom what purpose it had served or why it had existed on this particular landscape in the first place.3

1
Basra Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is registered as the 290th type of bird species at Aras Bird Sanctuary in 2018. Announced as endangered, it lives and populates in Mesopotamian reed beds.
2
Located in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region and also considered as a bird sanctuary, Aras River region hosts more than 300 types of birds, including the endangered Basra Reed Warbler.
3
Tuzluca (Ünlendi) Dam, located on the Aras River, is currently under construction. The dam will partially drown the birds' natural habitat along the riverside when it starts operation.
  1. Basra Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is registered as the 290th type of bird species at Aras Bird Sanctuary in 2018. Announced as endangered, it lives and populates in Mesopotamian reed beds.
  2. Located in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region and also considered as a bird sanctuary, Aras River region hosts more than 300 types of birds, including the endangered Basra Reed Warbler.
  3. Tuzluca (Ünlendi) Dam, located on the Aras River, is currently under construction. The dam will partially drown the birds' natural habitat along the riverside when it starts operation.