Political Murals as Reflection of Cultural and Ideological Identity: The Case of Istanul's Slum Neighbourhoods

Abstract

This paper aims to trace the salient attributes of the selected slum neighbourhoods in Istanbul via political mural themes reflecting socio-political (i.e. particularly left wing) identitPhotographing and face-to-face interviews are used as a method held in 6 neighbourhoods due to their central location in Istanbul, which had a dissenting discourse and exhibited this prominence as visible in public spaces through writings and acts. The research was carried out during the architectural idea project carried out during 2015-2016, with open-ended interviews with 27 people who have had the opportunity to record their interviews within the scope of many home visits. Along this path, the issue is tackled on two parallel tracks. Firstly, the urban role of the murals is scrutinized by looking into the relationship between the content of the murals and their location in the urban realm. Secondly, murals are analysed in regard to the concept of consistency of political expression through different media. The practical usage and the view of urban open spaces as a process and product of architecture will be examined together with the cultural symbols drawn on the walls through textual and visual language. The rituals of the left wing political resistance and the ideas of the local communities against the government's attitude towards the neighbourhood are materialized on the murals. This research intends to highlight the connections between the language on the walls and the identity of the residents of slums through an overlay of the language on the wall onto the language created by the use of open urban spaces.

Keywords

• facades
• identity
• istanbul
• local
• political murals; slum.