With Landscapes of the Mind, Istanbul Modern offers a richly textured meditation on the act of thinking itself —through the lens of one of Turkey’s most compelling contemporary artists, Ali Kazma. Known for his long-standing inquiry into the nature of human thinking, Kazma (b. 1971) turns his focus to literature, books, and the silent choreography of intellectual labor.

The exhibition traces Kazma’s video works and expansive photographic archive, capturing spaces where the mind dwells: libraries, printing houses, ink studios, and private studies. His new piece Sumi (2025), documenting a 600-year-old ink production house in Nara, Japan, makes its world premiere.

Other works shown in Turkey for the first time include Ink House (2023) and Sentimental (2022), both offering intimate glimpses into the archive of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, and Alberto in Lisbon (2024), which follows Argentine writer and bibliophile Alberto Manguel as he relocates his vast library. Also featured are earlier pieces such as Calligraphy and Tattoo (both 2013), first shown at the 55th Venice Biennale, underscoring Kazma’s ongoing fascination with ink as both substance and symbol.

The accompanying catalogue deepens the experience with essays by the curators, a reflection by Kazma on filming poets, and texts by Pamuk and Manguel that mirror the themes of memory, authorship, and visual language.

A cerebral, elegantly paced exhibition that lingers long after you leave the gallery. You have until 1 February 2026 to make the journey, but why wait to step inside the architecture of thought?