UNDER CONSTRUCTION: A RENOVATION
Performance, video, and installation
F-type prison, Ayas, Turkey,
Under Construction: A Renovation is part of the Under Construction series and took place as a performance in an incomplete “F-Type” penal complex located in Ayas near Ankara on 9 December 2005. The prison’s construction started in 1987 but was suspended in 1994 due to a lack of funds. After long delays, the building was deemed unfit for prisoners, because it does not meet “contemporary prison standards.”
There have been endless discussions about remodeling the prison’s buildings into a university, cultural center, dormitory, hospital, or even a refugee camp. It was given to the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) and as of 2021 is set for demolition.
The prison’s site was used for a set of prison actions and absurd handwritten statements.