The Future of Me-nemen-Mory (2019-2020)

For Refresh Amsterdam, Suat Öğüt invites the visitor to uncover some of the hidden, silent and forgotten places of Amsterdam. In his work The Future of the ‘Me­nemen­ Mory’, he encounters the unheard, invisible stories of its inhabitants. The installation consists of wooden models of buildings in Amsterdam, positioned on carpets printed with Google images of each location. The installation functions as a space between domestic and non-domestic settings, where Ögüte listens to the stories of the residents. According to the artist, Turkish communities confirm their cultural existence by adapting to each new location, with shops, markets, and other types of businesses, also in Amsterdam. 

For the installation, Ögüt relies on the primary, basic thing that everyone needs to survive: food. By using food (‘Menemen’, a Turkish dish) as a social metaphor, the work brings together different geographic and time zones. The project gives viewers access to individual histories and memories, and thus sheds light on the multiple layers of Amsterdam.

Öğüt views his own work as an ongoing process between people.