Production Inspired by the Real and Metaphorical Meanings of Nature and Bee Colonies: KovanProject

KovanProject was founded by artists Aslıhan Mumcu and Beyza Durhan, who live at opposite ends of Turkey—Tekirdağ and Şırnak—yet share common ecological concerns. Their work is deeply influenced by the physical and metaphorical existence of bees.

Describing Daire Sanat as a hive (home), the artists created the "Two-Faced Almanac" series during their residency, questioning how the hierarchy between nature and humans can be deconstructed and decentralized. They perceive the journeys of bees, the sun, and plants as an identity issue, proposing an analysis through concepts of transition, transformation, and belonging. The project is nourished by visual diaries, plants, and workshop waste from a year-long period in Şırnak and Tekirdağ, incorporating elements such as plants growing on walls and repurposed materials. During the residency, stamps were carved and printed, road maps were shaped into bioplastics from daily waste, and past visual diaries were reexamined in an experimental manner. "Two-Faced Almanac" seeks ways of mutual construction without disregarding personal history, concrete, collectivity, encounters, consumption and production, inviting viewers to reflect on art and ecology at offgrid art project.