ARAF
Turkey
2022
The number of Afghan refugees in Turkey, who have fled the ongoing civil war in their homeland, has reached nearly half a million. Some have been waiting for over 10 years. Others have lost their families or died. Some came as children and have since become adults who, deprived of educational, social and economic opportunities, are now faced with poverty and discrimination. They oscillate between the hope for a decent life and their precarious living conditions while developing habits. It is as if they were in the Araf (Limbo) – the land where people wait to be allowed into Heaven.
Born in 1982, Ali Saltan studied sociology at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul and did an MA in gender studies at the Ankara University. The artist is particularly interested in issues related to border, identity and migration in the context of political and cultural geography, subcultures, urban memory and gentrification. He is a member of the group PLATFORM by GAPO.
Portfolio
About the artist
Born in 1982, Ali Saltan studied sociology at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul and did an MA in gender studies at the Ankara University. The artist is particularly interested in issues related to border, identity and migration in the context of political and cultural geography, subcultures, urban memory and gentrification. He is a member of the group PLATFORM by GAPO.