296 pp, pb, color figures, in English.
Undone is a compelling exploration of the unrealised projects of Ayşe Erkmen, offering unique insight into
the conceptual processes and imaginative breadth behind works that never reached physical completion.
Rather than focusing solely on finished installations, the monograph gives voice to ideas halted by
logistical, political, or spatial limitations – ideas that retain their force in conceptual form. In stark contrast
to her directly commissioned public works, the fifty-three projects included in this volume were often
based on competitions to which Erkmen was invited. Yet these unrealised works, far from being mere
fragments or oversights, are brought to life through her own sketches, renderings, and concise
descriptions, revealing their conceptual rigour and expansive imagination.
Edited by Ayşe Orhun Gültekin, the monograph also features two insightful texts by Friedrich Meschede
and Cem İleri, which deepen the discussion of Erkmen’s artistic strategy, the broader contexts of public
art, and the question of realisation in contemporary practice as a complex, multifaceted process. Rather
than valuing art solely by its physical manifestation, Undone challenges conventional definitions of
success, presenting Erkmen as a thoughtful practitioner who engages with space, society, form, and
materials on her own terms.
The publication foregrounds the importance of intention, context, and potential – portraying Erkmen not
only as a sculptor or installation artist, but as a thinker deeply invested in place, public space, and the
poetics of what might have been. Instead of treating unrealised ideas as absences, Undone presents them
as rich sites of meaning – testimonies to art’s ability to unsettle, reimagine, and ‘loosen the seams of
reality’, as Fulya Erdemci once said. This volume was compiled in memory of Erdemci (1962–2022), a key
advocate for art in public spaces.
Undone is a compelling exploration of the unrealised projects of Ayşe Erkmen, offering unique insight into
the conceptual processes and imaginative breadth behind works that never reached physical completion.
Rather than focusing solely on finished installations, the monograph gives voice to ideas halted by
logistical, political, or spatial limitations – ideas that retain their force in conceptual form. In stark contrast
to her directly commissioned public works, the fifty-three projects included in this volume were often
based on competitions to which Erkmen was invited. Yet these unrealised works, far from being mere
fragments or oversights, are brought to life through her own sketches, renderings, and concise
descriptions, revealing their conceptual rigour and expansive imagination.
Edited by Ayşe Orhun Gültekin, the monograph also features two insightful texts by Friedrich Meschede
and Cem İleri, which deepen the discussion of Erkmen’s artistic strategy, the broader contexts of public
art, and the question of realisation in contemporary practice as a complex, multifaceted process. Rather
than valuing art solely by its physical manifestation, Undone challenges conventional definitions of
success, presenting Erkmen as a thoughtful practitioner who engages with space, society, form, and
materials on her own terms.
The publication foregrounds the importance of intention, context, and potential – portraying Erkmen not
only as a sculptor or installation artist, but as a thinker deeply invested in place, public space, and the
poetics of what might have been. Instead of treating unrealised ideas as absences, Undone presents them
as rich sites of meaning – testimonies to art’s ability to unsettle, reimagine, and ‘loosen the seams of
reality’, as Fulya Erdemci once said. This volume was compiled in memory of Erdemci (1962–2022), a key
advocate for art in public spaces.