A proposition for a new Monument to Humanity at the location of the former monument in Kars, Turkey, 25.07.2011

Monument to Humanity in Kars, Turkey


Demolition of Monument to Humanity in Kars, Turkey


Hand of Friendship, Kars, Turkey


Segments of the Monument to Humanity in junkyard, Kars, Turkey

MONUMENT TO HUMANITY - HELPING HANDS

In the weeks before the start of the residency in Istanbul we followed the continuous media coverage on the popular uprisings in the Middle East. A recurring topic within the different debates on the so-called “Arab spring” was the question how to combine the Islam with a functioning parliamentary democracy. In these kind of discussions Turkey’s democracy was often used as a role model. Turkey appears to have successfully combined its secular institutions with a majority Muslim society. But how transparent is Turkey’s democracy and how does political propaganda function in comparison to the propaganda in other countries in the region?

In preparation of our residency in Istanbul we tried to find a case study to examine and test some of the limits of democratic transparency in Turkey. Around the time we came to Istanbul we heard the news about a controversial monument in Kars, a small city on the border between Turkey and Armenia. We started to read different articles and found out that the monument was meant to be a token of friendship and peace towards Armenia. The sculpture symbolized a human being cloven into two parts, one representing the Turks and the other the Armenians. The Turkish figure was supposed to reach out to the Armenian figure as a sign of reconciliation.

From the beginning the statue was very controversial, since the Armenian–Turkish relations have been strained by a number of historical and political issues. Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing genocide, killing more than a million Armenians beginning in 1915. Until this day Turkey vehemently rejects these allegations. Especially the Turkish nationalist party is known for its outspoken denial of the Armenian genocide. In 2008 Members of the Turkish nationalist party in Kars started a legal procedure in order to put a hold on the construction process of the Monument to Humanity.

In January 2011 Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave Kars a visit and stoked up the debate on the Monument to Humanity, calling it “freakish” and demanding its demolition. Following the Prime Minister’s visit the municipal assembly passed a motion to tear down the sculpture. The creator - Mehmet Aksoy - tried to prevent the demolition but failed in turning its fate. On the 26th of April 2011 the destruction began and a few weeks later its last segment was dumped in a nearby junkyard. Some say that Erdoğan used the political momentum for the upcoming elections to gain votes of the nationalists. The official arguments were nevertheless more diplomatic: it was said that the monument lacked a zoning permit and had been illegally erected on a historic 16th century military site.

The reason the monument did not prove to be very successful can not simply be blamed on its critical opponents. The initiator and the artist are also partly responsible for its failure. An exclusive design and undemocratic inception are not conducive to the essential humanistic ideologies that form the underlying motive of the public sculpture. In defiance of all good intentions and the use of a popular visual language the monument did not prove to be a very adequate unifying symbol. It was supposed to stimulate an open dialogue, but instead it again put a halt on a possible negotiation between the Armenians and Turks. To counterpart this static situation we proposed a design that not necessarily provided symbolic goodness, but would also include critique, resistance and rejection. In July 2011 we organized an intervention in different neighbourhoods of Istanbul as a beginning of a participatory production to build an alternative monument to humanity

The central part of our performative intervention was a mobile studio that we pushed around as a catalyst for engaging the citizenry. The symbolic image of the mobile studio referred to the deplorable state of the original monument and consisted of a junk-cart with a copy of Mehmet Aksoy’s hand sculpture placed on top of it. The hand was an important element of the former monument to humanity. At the time the construction was put on hold - due to the legal procedure initiated by the nationalists - the sculpture was almost completed. The only missing element was the right hand of the Turkish figure. For years this last segment stood at the feet of the sculpture waiting to be attached to the amputated arm. The Hand of Friendship – as it was popularly referred to - functioned like a visual promise that one day the Turks would be ready to reach out to the Armenians.

While wheeling the handcar through the neighbourhoods, passers-by were asked to give a helping hand. By giving permission to copy one of their hands people contributed to the construction of a new monument. On the spot we made molds of their hands and interviewed them about their personal views related to the construction and demolishment. Participants could choose for themselves what kind of sign they wanted to make. We collected a variety of different signs, such as : open hands, fists, peace signs, ‘fuck you’ signs, etc. These plaster hand prints functioned as the building blocks for a new monument to humanity. After the intervention in Istanbul we brought the plaster hands to Kars to install them on the location of the demolished sculpture.

The next step in the process will be the production of a publication on the entirety of the project. Our aim is to use the book as a comprehensive proposal to convince people to participate in the continuation of the project. The handbook will be presented to governmental agencies and will function as an official proposition for a permanent monument to humanity in Kars. The book will be made like a manual explaining the principles for participatory trajectories as a prerequisite for the construction of public sculptures. The manual will help us to lobby for the legal approval for the construction of a permanent monument. We hope we can find enough support amongst administrators, governors and politicians, willing to invest in the political engagement of all Turkish citizens as we propose to include them - without any expectations - in the production process. Let us cover the hill with as many hands as possible and create space for ongoing negotiation.