Betül Aksu








Betül Aksuraw images
?-ongoing
Series of photographs from ancient sites
Part of Permessus series

In raw images, Betül Aksu presents a series of unprocessed photographs taken at 24 ancient archaeological sites* across Turkey. The images focus on architectural fragments such as columns that stand upright, lean, or lie partially buried in the earth. These remains embody a tension between endurance and erosion, capturing structures that are both present and incomplete. By leaving the photographs raw and untouched, and displaying them as a continuous slideshow, Betül emphasizes their vulnerability and openness, inviting the viewer to encounter them in a state of transition.
As part of the broader Permessus project, this work reflects on the fragility of cultural memory and the speculative potential of reconstruction. The columns appear as silent markers of time, inviting reflection on histories that remain unresolved and futures that are still unfolding. Through this visual meditation, raw images becomes a site of speculative reconstruction, where ruins are not remnants of the past, but the foundations of what may yet emerge.
*Pergamon, Smyrna, Teos, Ephesus, Priene, Miletus, Didyma, Heraclea, Knidos, Kaunos, Letoon, Tlos, Patara, Side, Perge, Aspendos, Termessos, Sagalassos, Hierapolis, Laodicea, Aphrodisias, Tripolis, Nysa, Sardis, Telmessos