Daniele Sigalot's 'Empires Ago' at Anna Laudel Contemporary, Istanbul

Daniele Sigalot (Rome, 1976) presents 'Empires Ago' at Anna Laudel Contemporary in Istanbul, featuring 38 works that for the first time incorporate new materials, yielding theatrical results. The exhibition spans eleven rooms across three floors, dominated by steel and iron pieces. Fourteen laser-engraved 'super mirror' steel maps reproduce areas of Istanbul (Karakoy, Kadikoy, Golden Horn, Grand Bazaar, Buyukada) and include a map of the Ottoman Topkapi Palace on gold leaf and Cristoforo Buondelmonte's 1442 map of Constantinople. New works highlight Sigalot's Roman roots and territorial belonging. The artist discusses his Google Maps-based works, inspired by his time in Rome, Milan, Barcelona, London, and Berlin, where distorted geometries emerge as viewers reflect their image on engraved steel. 'Buy now' features 1,400 synthetic flowers spelling the title. '3900 sponges on the floor' (2018) creates a 3D landscape from 3,900 sponges in 13 shades. 'Everything that could have been but wasn’t, now is' (2018) is a 300 cm sphere of 5,500 crumpled aluminum A4 sheets, representing the artist's worst ideas. The show closes with 'If you show me your empathy, I’ll show you mine' (2018), a gold mirror steel self-portrait. Sigalot also participated in the 13th edition of Contemporary Istanbul. The exhibition runs until October 26, 2018.