Cevdet Erek
Bergama Stereo
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo – Berlin Fragment (2024)
Museum in Motion – A Collection for the 21st Century Exhibition
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
Video by Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
Cevdet Erek’s Bergama Stereo, first exhibited in 2019 at the Turbinenhalle in Bochum, Germany, is a site-specific installation that reimagines the Great Pergamon Altar, a Hellenistic structure thought to have been built in the 2nd century BCE after the Kingdom of Pergamon’s victory over the Galatians.
The Great Pergamon Altar, also known as the Altar of Zeus, was uncovered during 19th-century excavations in the ancient city of Pergamon, now Bergama in İzmir, Turkey. This open-air monument, believed to be used for sacrificial rituals in antiquity, is renowned for the Great Frieze, which depicts the cosmic battle between the subterranean giants and the Olympian gods.
The altar was designed to reconcile the competing forces of rational governance and social order with the giants of the underworld. While the outcome of that battle is known, the focus here lies in its representation: a balanced, flawless human figure rising from the chasm below, merging into the chaos above.
Photograph by Thomas Struth
Photograph by Claus Ableiter
Parts of the altar were buried and damaged over centuries before German archaeologists fully excavated it in the early 20th century. In the 1880s, its remains were moved from Pergamon—then part of the Ottoman Empire and now located in what is today Bergama, Turkey—to Berlin. This relocation has remained a subject of controversy ever since.
Originally built for a military figure, the altar’s reconstruction reflects 19th-century archaeological ideals and Germany’s Philhellenic fascination, shaping an idealized past. The Pergamon Museum in Berlin was specifically built to house the altar, whose relocation remains a subject of controversy.
I was invited to propose a work to show at Hamburger Bahnhof and the Ruhrtriennale, by the three curators of the project. It’s been a long time that I’ve been studying the remains of old towns in western Anatolia, the latest fruit of this curiosity was the installation ‘ÇIN’ that I made for the Pavilion of Turkey at the 2017 Venice Biennale, which was related to ‘Bergama Stereo’ in its form. Then, I remembered the Pergamon Museum—a part of Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, just like the Hamburger Bahnhof—and the construction of the Great Altar enclosed in it, which I could never visit, though I was familiar with its image as shown in Turkish newspapers, as a kind of a childhood memory. I don’t remember exactly when, but it did not take too long to bring these thoughts together and propose some sketches to the curators.*
Cevdet Erek ÇIN (2017)
Pavilion of Turkey, 57th Venice Biennale
Photograph by RMStudio
Bergama Stereo
August 24 – September 29, 2019
Solo Show | Concerts and Performances – Ruhrtriennale, Turbinenhalle an der Jahrhunderthalle | Bochum, Germany
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo (2019)
Ruhrtriennale, Turbinenhalle at the Jahrhunderthalle | Bochum, Germany
Photograph by Michael Godehardt
The Pergamon Museum was undergoing extensive renovations during Bergama Stereo’s 2019 showcase in Berlin. The exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum offered viewers a unique opportunity to experience Cevdet Erek’s reinterpretation of the altar’s historical and political significance, architectural form, and reception.
The term “stereo,” derived from the Greek stereós (solid) and phōnē (sound), embodies both solidity and spatial sound reproduction. Erek harnesses this dual meaning to connect ancient, 19th-century, and contemporary histories, using sound to evoke architectural symmetry and acoustic depth.
Ruhrtriennale, Turbinenhalle at the Jahrhunderthalle | Bochum, Germany
Photograph by Michael Godehardt
Cevdet Erek performs with the davul
Video by The Wire Magazine
Ruhrtriennale, Turbinenhalle at the Jahrhunderthalle | Bochum, Germany
Photograph by Michael Godehardt
The giants depicted on the altar’s frieze are reimagined in Erek’s 34-channel sound sculpture, comprising massive Funktion-One speakers and low-frequency subwoofers. The speakers form a striking visual parallel to the altar’s fragmented discovery, transport, and reassembly.
Visitors can walk around the work, experiencing sound patterns individually as part of a larger composition—contrasting with the Pergamonmuseum’s static presentation, where the altar’s rear was hidden. The speakers emit sounds inspired by contemporary sound culture—deep bass drum beats, guttural tones, and echoes of animal calls. Erek, both architect and drummer, integrates recordings from his solo album Davul (2017), created with a traditional Turkish bass drum.
Drawing by Selin Şentürk and Cevdet Erek
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo (2019)
Ruhrtriennale, Turbinenhalle at the Jahrhunderthalle | Bochum, Germany
Photograph by Michael Godehardt
Bergama Stereo
October 19, 2019 – March 8, 2020
Solo Show | Concerts and Performances – Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Curators: Ingrid Buschmann (Freunde Guter Musik Berlin e. V.), Gabriele Knapstein (Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie), Matthias Osterwold (Ruhrtriennale)
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo (2019–2020)
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Mathias Voelzke
This program was presented as part of the series Works of Music by Visual Artists, launched in 1999 by Freunde Guter Musik Berlin e. V. in collaboration with the Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The series has featured concert performances and installations at Hamburger Bahnhof by artists including Hanne Darboven, Yves Klein, Hermann Nitsch, Rodney Graham, Stephen Prina, Lawrence Weiner / Peter Gordon, Käthe Kruse, Carsten Nicolai, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Cory Arcangel, Egill Sæbjörnsson & Marcia Moraes, Ryoji Ikeda, Susan Philipsz, Saâdane Afif, Ari Benjamin Meyers, Christian Marclay, and Jorinde Voigt.
Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Mathias Voelzke
In Bergama Stereo, immersive soundscapes echo a rich lineage while standing apart. Ascending the installation’s stairs reveals shifting sonic layers—like a distinct ride cymbal driving the underground mix—crafting a dynamic, tactile listening experience.
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo (2019–2020)
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Video by Ants and Butterflies, Berlin
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Mathias Völzke
Digital collage by Cevdet Erek
Cover for Sanat Dünyamız, Yapı Kredi Publications (YKY), May–June 2020
‘L’ and ‘R’ flags were installed on flag posts at Hamburger Bahnhof—to mark a possible connection of stereophonic sound production and traditional representation of the political spectrum as left and right, and against the classicist and symmetrical architecture of Gropius Bau.*
Photographs from January 27, 2020. Contagious [De-Constructed] three-part concert evening: Duo, Solo, Trio, as part of the concert and performance program held in the exhibition hall.
Photo credit: Freunde Guter Musik Berlin e.V.
Bergama Stereotip
February 27 – December 30, 2020
Solo Show – Arter | Istanbul, Turkey
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereotip (2020-2021)
Arter | Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Barış Aras and Elif Çakırlar
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereotip (2020-2021)
Arter | Istanbul, Turkey
Video by Selçuk Metin
Arter | Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Barış Aras and Elif Çakırlar
Bergama Stereotip incorporates elements of Bergama Stereo, retaining the size of its modules while reducing their number. It serves as a fragment referencing both the Great Pergamon Altar and its predecessor, yet it remains an autonomous sound construction with a unique blend of patterns and rhythms.
As with its earlier iterations in Bochum and Berlin, Bergama Stereotip adapts its dimensions and structure to the proportions and perspectives of its architectural host. This integration allows visitors to freely navigate and shape their relationship with the work.
The space is filled with a 13-channel sound composition of short, repeating rhythmic patterns. These sounds, projected directly from the speakers and reflected off surrounding surfaces, combine differently at various points in the space.
In its Arter iteration, the work exposes its sound production system and internal structure, departing from the architectural symmetry of its Berlin version. The dual steps that once encircled the structure now extend to two walls of the exhibition space, while backdrop curtains double as sound-absorbing surfaces.
Bergama Stereotip reflects on the history of displacement surrounding the altar, addressing contemporary issues faced by diasporas worldwide. It explores the challenges of living in a foreign place and imagining a distant land as home.
In Bochum, a city shaped by mining, Bergama Stereo took on coal’s black hue. In Istanbul, where Erek was born and works, it adopted the red ochre of the city’s traditional wooden houses—evoking Istanbul’s history while symbolizing home, earth, and warmth for the artist.
Arter | Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Barış Aras and Elif Çakırlar
Bergama Stereo Bergama
August 26 – August 29, 2021
Bergama Theatre Festival | Izmir, Turkey
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo Bergama (2021) | 2nd Bergama Theater Festival
Pergamon, Bergama | Izmir, Turkey
Photograph by Günseli Baki
Presented at the 2021 Bergama Theatre Festival, Bergama Stereo Bergama pieced together and rearranged elements from the Arter version with remnants of the original altar, aiming to highlight its current condition and contribute to ongoing discussions around alternative modes of display.
3D visualization of Bergama Stereo Bergama in Izmir, Turkey (2021)
Drawing by Selin Şentürk and Cevdet Erek
Bergama Stereo in Singapore
October 16, 2022 – March 19, 2023
Singapore Biennale “Natasha” | Singapore, Singapore
Bergama Stereo was displayed at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark as part of the 2022 Singapore Biennale, titled “Natasha.” The iteration offered a new perspective on the work’s evolution, whereby color and sound shifted to the respective exhibition locations.
3D visualization of Bergama Stereo in Singapore (2022)
Drawing by Selin Şentürk and Cevdet Erek
Singapore Biennale “Natasha”
Singapore, Singapore
Photograph by Ala Younis
Bergama Stereo – Berlin Fragment
September 6, 2024 – Ongoing
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Cevdet Erek Bergama Stereo – Berlin Fragment (2024)
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Jacopo La Forgia
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart | Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Jacopo La Forgia
In 2024, Bergama Stereo – Berlin Fragment (2019-2024) was acquired by Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin.
For the collection, Erek has shipped the remains of the Arter version from Istanbul to Berlin and adapted the sound part composition to a 4-channel composition, accompanied by an information board detailing all versions of the Bergama Stereo.
Featuring the work, the permanent collection exhibition Museum in Motion – A Collection for the 21st Century opened in September 2024 at Hamburger Bahnhof, marking the reopening of Rieckhallen.
One of four collection exhibitions at Hamburger Bahnhof, the exhibition presents ten large-scale works from the past 25 years. It explores the evolving role of museums in contemporary art and their adaptation to future societal, technological, and demographic changes.
3D visualization of Bergama Stereo - Berlin Fragment in Berlin, Germany (2024)
Drawing by Selin Şentürk and Cevdet Erek
While binaural hearing lets us triangulate sound, Bergama Stereo resists full comprehension. Here, sound, history, and space converge, demanding active yet open-ended engagement. The work reconnects the distant, foreign, or lost, offering proximity through sound. Its rhythmic repetition underscores transformation and innovation, inviting the audience to listen, observe, move, or even dance.
Climbing its massive stairs, visitors activate the work’s architectural soundscape as Erek’s looping sounds reverberate through the altar’s unresolved history, weaving together past and present. Like the Pergamon Altar, Bergama Stereo emerges from an archaeology of rhythm, space, and the dual-channel interplay between human and animal bodies.
Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2019)
Photograph by Mathias Voelzke
About the Artist
Cevdet Erek is an interdisciplinary visual and sound artist based in Turkey. Born in Istanbul in 1974, Erek studied architecture at the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts before earning a Master’s degree in Sound Engineering & Design and a PhD in Music at ITU MIAM.
The artist has been widely exhibited internationally in a range of museums and galleries. Recently, he has been shown at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, and Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia. He represented Turkey at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. In 2025, Erek will be exhibited at the Liverpool Biennial.
Erek was awarded the Nam June Paik Award (2012) and the Uriot Prize (2005), and was shortlisted for the Jameel 4 Prize in 2016.
Beyond his artistic practice, Erek is a member of the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory faculty, also teaching at ITU MIAM. He has also been a member of the band Nekropsi since 1991.
Career Highlights
Solo Exhibitions
- TONSPUR passage / Museumsquartier, Vienna, Austria (2022)
- Hunt Kastner, Prague, Czechia (2021)
- Void Gallery, Derry, United Kingdom (2021)
- Bergama Theatre Festival, İzmir, Turkey (2021)
- Arter, İstanbul, Turkey (2020)
- Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany (2020)
- 5th Ruhrtriennale, Jahrhunderthalle, Bochum, Germany (2019)
- The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States (2019)
- Lydgalleriet, Bergen, Norway (2018)
- M HKA Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium (2018)
- MUAC Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, México City, Mexico (2017)
- 124,908, Tiflis, Georgia (2015)
Pavilion of Turkey at the 57th Venice Biennale
Venice, Italy
Photograph by RMStudio
Publications
- Artforum (2020)
- The Quietus (2019)
- Chicago Tribune (2019)
- Art Asia Pacific (2018)
- Radio Papasse (2017)
- The Wire (2017)
- Art Review (2017)
Group Exhibitions
- Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany (2024)
- Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany (2024)
- Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM), Tallinn, Estonia (2024)
- Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland (2023)
- MAMbo – Modern Art Museum of Bologna, Bologna, Italy (2023)
- SFMOMA San Francisco Modern Museum of Art, San Francisco, United States (2022)
- Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium (2019)
- A Kasteyev State Museum of Arts, Almaty, Kazakhstan (2018)
- Museum of Modern Art, Kuwait City, Kuwait (2012)
- New Museum, New York, United States (2012)
- Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom (2011)
- MOMAS – Museum of Modern Art Saitama, Saitama, Japan (2003)
Biennials
- Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, United Kingdom (2025)
- Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece (2023)
- Singapore Biennale, Singapore, Singapore (2023)
- 12th Shanghai Biennale Shanghai, China (2019)
- 57th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2017)
- 13th Cuenca Biennial, Cuenca, Ecuador (2017)
- 20th Biennial of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2016)
- İstanbul Bienali, İstanbul, Turkey (2015)
- Marrakech Biennale 5, Marrakech, Morocco (2014)
- 5th International Festival of Contemporary Art, Algiers, Algeria (2013)
- Sharjah Biennial 11, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2013)
- dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany (2012)
- İstanbul Bienali, İstanbul, Turkey (2011)
Galeri Nev
Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Zarastro Art
Collection of Istanbul Modern
Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Zarastro Art
Awards
- Jameel 4 Prize Shortlist (2016)
- Nam June Paik Award (2012)
- Uriot Prize with Studio (2005)
- Garantibank Award (2005)