THE MEMORY OF CITIES-5

Cities lose their unique spatial identities as a result of the transformations they undergo throughout history and time. This photography project investigates the increasing similarity of cities and the effects of this change on collective memory. The study addresses the issue of the city around the fundamental question: Can a city's memory outlive its physical existence? Today, cities in different parts of the world are increasingly converging through similar building typologies, transportation networks, skyscrapers, shopping malls, and housing models. These repetitive urban forms render the historical layers of cities invisible while also causing a transformation of collective memory. A city is not only a physically growing structure; it is also a constantly rewritten memory space. Cities are carriers of architectural dimensions, public life, spatial organization, and collective memory.

In the project, images of ancient cities are superimposed to create new surfaces. Each layer represents a different temporal trace. When brought together, the readability of individual structures decreases, while a more intense and abstract representation of historical continuity emerges. Inspired by the concept of vorticism, this work treats time not as a linear process, but as a dynamic field where different periods converge at a single center. The swirling structures formed between the layers imply that the past has not disappeared; on the contrary, it continues to exist as the invisible foundations of contemporary life.