Switzerland- Geneva Wall 1999

Burhan Dogancay made "Switzerland - Geneva Wall" by taking a photograph of a weathered wall. He captured this surface where posters had been ripped away, leaving behind an accidental collage. The colours, mostly reds and whites, seem to fight for space, mirroring the chaotic energy of a city. Look at the way the layers peel off, revealing glimpses of what was once important, now lost and fragmented, this evokes a sense of time passing, of stories layered upon stories. It is like the archaeology of the everyday, the act of revealing and concealing becomes as important as the image itself. The torn edges, the staples, they speak to the physicality of the wall, a reminder that art is not just about the image, but about the material world it inhabits. Dogancay’s work reminds me a bit of Mimmo Rotella, who also worked with décollage, ripping posters off walls to create art. It's a conversation across time, a recognition that art is always building upon what came before.