The Rahmi Koç Museum is bringing together painter and illustrator Haslet Soyöz, who illuminated the visual memory of Turkish maritime history with his brush, with a commemorative exhibition titled "We Remain Longing for the Seas" on the first anniversary of his death.
Soyöz, who held six different exhibitions at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Turkey's first and only industrial museum, since 2003, depicted ships, tugboats, and lighthouses not only with their technical details but also with the stories and cultural memory they carried. His works, reflecting his passion for the sea and the visual archive he left to Turkey's maritime heritage, are brought together again in a special selection at the commemorative exhibition.
The Haslet Soyöz Commemorative Exhibition: We Remain Longing for the Seas, which opened on May 28th and can be visited until June 7th in the museum's Boathouse Exhibition Hall, consists of 17 paintings by Soyöz that were previously exhibited at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum. The exhibition's special selection includes works masterfully painted by Soyöz, such as the Gülcemal, the first ship to sail to the USA under the Turkish flag, from the exhibition "The Blue Where the Land Ends," as well as Gemlik, Midilli, Yzb. Murad Bey, Layter 19, Taşköprü, Filikada Mürettebat, Gayret-i Vataniye, Rumeli Feneri, Numara 7, Vatan, and Kotra. Also featured are the Kızılada Lighthouse, Knidos Lighthouse, İğneada Lighthouse, Rumeli Karaburun Lighthouse, and Anadolu Lighthouse from the "Lighthouses" exhibition.
Organized on the first anniversary of the master artist's passing, the exhibition shares Soyöz's maritime glossary and ship stories, documented over the years, with visitors in an emotional narrative. Inspired by the artist's words, "I listened to the stories of the ships, I gathered information about them. While painting, I wanted to reflect not only their portraits but also their souls," the exhibition invites viewers to witness Turkey's maritime memory.
Here are some of the paintings featured in the exhibition, which can be seen until June 7th:
Gülcemal: Built in Ireland in 1874, the floating palace's first name was Germanic. In 1910, it was purchased by the Ottoman Naval Society and, upon arriving off Dolmabahçe, was renamed Gülcemal Hatun, the mother of Sultan Mehmed Reşad, who died in childhood. It sometimes hosted heroes of the National Forces, and sometimes German soldiers. The transatlantic Gülcemal became the first ship to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the USA under the Turkish flag in 1920. The photograph of Atatürk with cushions featuring the double anchor symbol of the Maritime Transport Company on either side was taken on the Gülcemal on June 5, 1926.
Rumeli Feneri: Rumeli Feneri is the Black Sea entrance on the European side of the Bosphorus, one of the world's most challenging waterways. The fishing village, named after the lighthouse that guided sailors, still retains its importance today. The Rumeli Lighthouse, whose construction began in 1769, became entirely Turkish property in 1933 after the century-long operating concession granted to the French was revoked following the victory in the War of Independence. The thirty-meter-tall lighthouse stands fifty-eight meters above sea level, and its white light is visible from eighteen nautical miles away.
Anadolu Lighthouse: Built in 1856 on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus, at the Black Sea entrance, the Anadolu Lighthouse, with its light flashing for two seconds and remaining on for eighteen seconds, stands seventy-five meters above sea level.
Source: https://www.haberturk.com/rahmi-m-koc-muzesinden-haslet-soyazu-anma-sergisi-3888498