ANNA LAUDEL Ankara is proud to announce the exhibition "I WAS A STRANGER HERE", the solo exhibition by Ramazan Can, on view from September 18 to November 21, 2026. Through the exploration of space, belonging, and movement, the exhibition discovers the ways an object can acquire new meanings when placed within a different context.
The carpet serves as a point of departure. Rather than treating it simply as a traditional motif or an aesthetic surface, the artist approaches the carpet as an object carrying traces of migration, production, and collective memory. For the Yörük communities, the shift from a nomadic to a settled way of life transformed not only where they lived, but also how they produced, worked, and lived together.
Drawing on research conducted in and around Manisa since 2011 by Ramazan Can, the works trace the material and cultural shifts surrounding the transition from nomadic to settled life. The carpet holds traces of these changes, carrying a history that continues to unfold through its use and meaning.
The encounter between carpet and concrete brings together movement and settlement into dialogue. Rather than presenting them as opposite, the exhibition considers how the two materials transform one another's meanings. "I WAS A STRANGER HERE" therefore considers not only the entry of an object into an field of art, but also the ways in which belonging is constructed and objects are redefined through context.
