Safe

Ali Kazma (b. 1971, Istanbul, Turkey; based in Istanbul)
"Safe" 2016
Single channel HD video (3:18 min.)
Courtesy Galeri Nev, Istanbul; Galleria Francesca Minini, Milan; Akıncı, Amsterdam; Analix Forever, Geneva

Ali Kazma’s Safe consists of exterior and interior footage of the Global Seed Vault, situated in the Svalbard Islands, between Norway and the North Pole. It was filmed in 2016, when access to the area was limited only to those with special permission. This specific vault is the largest of over 1,000 vaults across the globe, which were designed to serve as depositories for seeds in case of a man-made or natural catastrophe, and contain the world’s largest collection of agricultural biodiversity. While the wars of the last century prompted the construction of military bunkers to save human lives, the need to save plants (and clean water) continues to intensify and may arguably be taking precedence. Kazma’s emphasis on our collective solitary life experience, a metaphorical portrait of an isolated being, self-sufficient and protected, is not lost, as our emotional and national insulation solidify daily. That is to say that Kazma’s video, Safe, is in Notes for Tomorrow to look squarely in the face of what needs to be done practically and logistically, regardless of personal biases or political positions, to prepare for the worst, while also empathetically acknowledging the intimate human sides of fear, abandonment, and uncertainty.

By Mari Spirito (based in Istanbul and New York, United States)