Işık Güner, Iris gatesii Foster (2025)
Yunus Karma’s Kintsugi Moss Sculpture (2025) poised in the Şule Gazioğlu Gallery
As Istanbul edges towards spring, a new exhibition at the Şule Gazioğlu Gallery draws our attention to our inner relationship with nature.
Rooted: The Garden Within (26 February — 19 March) brings together works by Annette Louise Solakoğlu, Elena Tash, Işık Güner and Yunus Karma. Each artist, working in a different medium, explores the deep connections between human experience and the natural world.
Annette Louise Solakoğlu (featured in issues 67 and 69) presents works from two series. Her Botanica pieces draw on the compositional discipline of Dutch Golden Age still lifes and the tradition of momento mori. Using a scanning-based photographic process, she creates layered compositions that capture the tonal depth and delicacy of plants. Works from her Istanbul Gardens series turn to cultivated spaces across the city, where architecture and vegetation coexist with human presence.
Annette Louise Solakoğlu, Secret Garden, Zeki Paşa Mansion (2025)
Annette Louise Solakoğlu, Botanica I, New York (2024)
Readers will also recognise the work of Işik Güner, whose irises graced the cover of issue 67. Güner’s botanical illustrations are grounded in field study and careful documentation. Her meticulous watercolours render each species with exquisite precision. On view are works from her Turkish Irises project, which records every iris species in Turkey within its natural habitat. These watercolours are shown alongside sketches from her recent research journey to Japan, reflecting on ecosystems and biodiversity through close observation of the plant itself.
Section from Işık Güner’s Plants of Japan-Travel Journal, 2025
Işık Güner, Forest (2025)
Yunus Karma’s Kintsugi Moss Sculpture (2025) poised in the Şule Gazioğlu Gallery
Yunus Karma presents pieces inspired by the Japanese philosophy of kintsugi, which recognises the value in repair and continuity. Using preserved moss and repurposed vessels, he creates sculptural works that bring out the tactile and spatial qualities of organic materials. Elena Tash works with antique fabrics, layering symbols and textures to connect natural materials with memory and inner experience.
Elena Tash’s Garden of Memories (2026) combines antique fabrics to create evocative new garments.
Rooted: The Garden Within encourages a moment of reflection, presenting nature not only as what surrounds us, but something deeply internalised within our own lives and perception.
Photos by Cengiz Çavuşoğlu and Elena Tash.
The exhibition, Rooted: The Garden Within can be visited at Şule Gazioğlu Gallery in Emirgan, Hekim Ata Cd.3A Tuesday to Saturday 11am - 6pm, Sunday 1pm - 5pm. No entrance fee.
