Looking at the Same Water
If the sea is considered as a symbol for various levels of consciousness, how can societies living on the same waterfronts connect with these levels of collective consciousness through different perspectives and spatial relations? If these perspectives and forms of relationship are revealed in a common area, can the Mediterranean identity be evaluated through an objective reality?
The Mediterranean people have been looking at the same water for a very long time. The Mediterranean with such different shores is often described as a space of cohesion, it is also a geostrategic transitional space between several worlds of Europe, Asia and Africa. It has been a dreamlike source of inspiration for ancient and contemporary mythologies. Sea of exchanges, meetings, conflicts… It is a heterogeneous and moving representation. Sailboats and yachts meet there. The fragile boats of migrants disappear there. Its turquoise waters are a major tank of marine biodiversity confronted with a more than delicate ecological balance.
All these strong contradictions and this rich diversity can be a source of inspiration and commitment for artists. Artists are the inspiring characters of the world. They are free to imagine our future. It is up to them to show the Mediterranean world of tomorrow. This possibility is perhaps hidden in the deep relationship that contemporary art establishes with the process, its tendency to ask questions, its confidence in the simultaneous coexistence of different centers, its productive discussion ability and its curiosity about other possibilities.
Maybe now is a good time to see our reflections in the water. Perhaps distinguishing between the clarity of the water and each other will open a new space infront of us. This space, which the poet Edip Cansever deftly points out in his poem “The Rest Remains”, in which he winks at the Mediterranean, will set us free “like a boat freshly launched into the water”.