Urban Icons in Ayvansaray

Ayvansaray is one of the areas being rapidly gentrified at the moment. The inhabitants of the quarter have different ways to deal with the fact, that they most probably will have to leave their houses and working spaces to wealthier people. A certain kind of urban dialogue emerges from the different icons being used in the quarter.

The muncipiality is present with special industrial produced icons. The declare urban orders to people: don’t enter, don’t park, don’t misbehave!

Vice versa children and youngsters add their colorful icons in the global language of graffiti keeping a lovely local style. I named them haphazardly as “Guerilla Alaadin” and “Boncuk bomb” not aiming to stigmatize the creators as radicals. The icons much more reflect a fruitful creative comment on the authority of the urban orders.

Camouflage labelists use strong icons of inviolable origin like national flag colours and patriot soft drinc labels. The small shop on the main street uses the Turkish flag as an eyecatcher. On it’s backside an advertisement of Cola Turca is dominating. Both icons are corresponding with each other in red and white colors. They seem to transport a solid patriot and religous attitude as well. But who knows, if that isn’t a camouflage? And who cares? If the owners imagine to be shielded by those icons? I fear that anyway it will be the money, that will decide about staying or departing of the people in Ayvansaray.