Time Space Geometry

Curated by Fırat Arapoğlu, Time Space Geometry brings together a selection from five thematic series spanning more than two decades of Olivo Barbieri's practice. About Borusan Contemporary presents Time Space Geometry , the first solo exhibition in Türkiye by Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri, whose distinctive photographic language is shaped by his use of optical intervention techniques. On view from 19 September 2026 to 15 August 2027, the exhibition is curated by Fırat Arapoğlu and brings together a selection from five thematic series spanning more than twenty years of Barbieri’s practice: Time Space Geometry , site specific_ , The Waterfall Project , Alps − Geographies and People , and Capri . The exhibition also features works commissioned by Borusan Contemporary Art Collection, focusing on nine ancient cities in Türkiye. Since the late 1970s, Barbieri has developed an original approach to photography that challenges conventional ways of seeing. His photographs of cities, landscapes, architectural structures, and natural formations shift between the familiar and the unexpected, often making real places appear almost like models. Through changes in scale, perspective, and spatial perception, Barbieri transforms the act of looking itself, inviting viewers to reconsider how landscapes are seen, remembered, and represented. The exhibition moves across a wide range of geographies and subjects. From archaeological sites in Anatolia and global metropolises to monumental waterfalls, the Alps, and the shores of Capri, the works bring together different geographies and layers of time and memory. Rather than simply documenting the places he photographs, Barbieri reconfigures them through this approach, creating images that occupy a space between observation and construction, reality and illusion. Among the works on view is a series commissioned by Borusan Contemporary Art Collection in 2023, for which Barbieri travelled across Türkiye to photograph nine ancient cities: Perge, Kibyra, Laodikeia, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Ephesus, Sagalassos, Side, and Myra. Produced for the Borusan Contemporary Art Collection and presented for the first time, these photographs place the archaeological sites within the broader context of Barbieri’s practice, where architecture, landscape, scale, and the passage of time become interconnected elements of the image. The site specific_ series, represented by photographs of cities including Shanghai, Rome, Los Angeles, London, Istanbul, Brasília, Jordan, Catania, and Naples, explores the city from elevated viewpoints, transforming dense urban environments into seemingly miniature worlds. The Waterfall Project turns its attention to some of the world’s most iconic waterfalls, revealing the ways in which natural landscapes are shaped by tourism, infrastructure, and spectacle. In Alps − Geographies and People , mountain landscapes and human figures become part of an exploration of the relationship between nature and its representation, while Capri approaches the Mediterranean landscape through the layered cultural memory and imagery associated with the island. The exhibition is presented across the office floors of Perili Köşk (the Haunted Mansion), Borusan Contemporary’s home overlooking the Bosphorus. The historic waterfront building, which serves as the headquarters of Borusan Holding as well as a public venue for contemporary art, creates an unusual setting in which photography is encountered alongside architecture and working life. The relationship between the photographs and the building’s own spatial character also reflects the exhibition’s interest in how we perceive and experience places. With Time Space Geometry , Barbieri invites viewers to look again at landscapes that may seem familiar but are transformed through a shift in perspective. Moving between archaeology and urban landscapes, nature and architecture, memory and photographic illusion, the exhibition explores how photography can alter our perception of space, time, and the world around us. As Barbieri’s images suggest, a landscape is never simply what lies before the eye: it is also something remembered, imagined, and reconstructed. Read more Toggle Photography Architecture