The exhibition invites viewers to reconsider the concepts of possibility, remembrance, and transformation through the metaphors of water, depth, and transport.
Labirent Art presents "Universe of Possibilities," a solo exhibition featuring recent paintings by artist Merve Turan, from April 4th to May 9th, 2026.
"Universe of Possibilities" establishes a kinship between Ursula K. Le Guin's "Sack Theory," which offers a radical proposition about the origins of human narrative, and the aquarium metaphor prominent in Merve Turan's artistic practice. According to Le Guin, humanity's first cultural tool was not a weapon; it was a sack that brought together seeds, roots, and stories, carrying life. Turan's aquarium similarly rejects a linear and hero-centered narrative. The aquarium, as an environment we swim in but often fail to notice, reminds us that life is constructed not through grand narratives but through small, multiple, and fragile fragments.
Instead of pointing to a single truth, the exhibition makes visible the possibilities that exist at different depths within the same water. Here, courage is not about reaching a peak; it's about daring to descend. The stones and sand at the bottom of the aquarium are treated like objects accumulating in a sack. When established thoughts and untouched layers are touched, the water becomes muddy; the sack becomes turbulent. It is precisely from this movement that new stories are born. Healing, therefore, means not so much a victory as taking responsibility for moving the stones and establishing a gentler contact with the past.
In Turan's works, recurring forms appear as objects and personal protectors that the artist has accumulated in his sack throughout life. These forms suggest reading the story not through conquest but through the continuity of life. In this universe, time is not linear; past, present, and future are carried in the same flow, touching each other like fragments standing side-by-side in the sack.
The joy and colorful texture on the surface of the works in the exhibition do not negate the ambiguity in their depths. Just as the chaos inside the sack makes life possible, the movement at the bottom of the aquarium is reflected as a vibration on the surface. “Universe of Possibilities” offers a poetic expression of moving forward with the burdens we carry, learning to live with uncertainty, and allowing possibilities to remain open, rather than a hero's journey.
Merve Turan's “Universe of Possibilities” exhibition can be visited at Labirent Sanat until May 9, 2026.
About the Artist:
Merve Turan was born in Istanbul in 1987. She graduated from Marmara University's Painting Department in 2010 and began her master's studies in Art Theory and Criticism at Işık University the same year. Having participated in numerous exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad, she held her first solo exhibition in 2013. Between 2011 and 2015, she worked at IMOGA Istanbul Graphic Arts Museum; In 2016, she taught printmaking classes at the Printmaking School, established within the same institution. Since 2016, she has continued her artistic work with children and continues her production in her studio in Istanbul.
Developing different approaches in her art practice, Turan establishes her dream world as a shared space against systemic illusions. The clarity of the childhood mind, the destruction of historical portraits, the sharpness in lines, and the emphasis on color in the movement of objects are among the fundamental elements of this approach. Seeking answers to the "we" problem through stories, the artist invites the viewer to dream anew in our age where stories have run out.
Source: https://www.medyaloji.net/son-haber/merve-turan-ihtimaller-evreni-4-nisanda-labirent-sanatta_23684813.html#google_vignette