After wanderings and time travels, Hüseyin Umaysiz has landed—for now, for a moment—in Berlin. In a fortress-like brick ship with tall, heavy doors, located in the district of Treptow.
Treptow—from the Treptoew Triptych (okay, that doesn’t exist. But a part of town with a name like that deserves a Triptych. With ornate details, hand-painted. Oil paint. Stars, drops, mystique. Carefully preserved in a dimly lit room where temperature and humidity are just right. Something Van Eyck-like. Light and dark. It would fit a place like this. And of course: there’s that semi-famous park. Also good. It’s a start. But a Triptych, that’s something else, isn’t it?)
Within the walls of the lofty building: a heavy table. Lots of wood, medieval. Lit by torches. Hüseyin rummages in his bag, pulls out a jar, and holds it up to the light. Inside the jar: a blob, a yeast, a nourishing force.
The lid turns. The jar breathes in greedy gulps of air. Berlin air, subtly Treptowish in composition. Now, a little water and flour, and the yeast will grow. Supernaturally fast. And so too it goes for Hüseyin’s work: a little time and space, collaboration with Christoph De Boeck, and once again a subtle layer of Yeast and Davul will emerge.
Hüseyin’s residency in Treptow (at Flutgraben, a space for and by artists) runs from May 17 to 25. He’ll return to Flutgraben in June. But we’ll get to that later.