Mutant Space

Atıf Akın (Turkey)

Alt Art Space, Istanbul Archaeological Museums

“Mutant Space spans across vast amounts of time, encompassing past, present and future, from 3 Gya (~ 3 billion years ago) to 240,000 years from now. The project contemplates radioactive spaces through the investigation and documentation of four sites: Chernobyl in the Ukraine, Onkalo in Finland, the Hanford Site in the U.S., and Metsamor in Armenia. Mutant Space considers the mythical and scientific elements embedded in these sites, as well as their archaeological, technological, geological, architectural and mechanical components as part of a totality. Radioactive materials serve as a point of recognition and the core of each mutant space… The viewer is asked to look through atoms, layers, design and time to see Mutant Space.” –AA

Mutant Space is a two-part project by New York-based artist and designer Atıf Akın that examines the intimate relationships between radioactivity, architecture and archaeology at four key sites around the world: Chernobyl (Ukraine), Onkalo (Finland), the Hanford Site (U.S.A.), and Metsamor (Armenia). One of the two parts of the project is exhibited at Alt Art Space and consists of a three-channel video animation. The other section is on show at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. The installation at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums juxtaposes nuclear time with archaeological time through an interactive experience of Virtual Reality.