Umut's Story

Umut is a Turkish Erasmus exchange student at the Faculty of Architecture in Ghent. He currently plans to stay in Belgium after his studies. Returning to his homeland is not an option. Umut's sexual orientation is met with much resistance within the Turkish community and in the wider city of Istanbul. Umut describes the first 21 years of his life as a cage from which he could not escape. Now that he's finally free, he doesn't have to look back. Since his arrival in Belgium, he has cried many times with happiness. Through an interview in which Umut is asked to sketch his childhood home, we learn more about the place where he comes from. Themes such as homesickness, feeling at home and being yourself are on display. Analyzing the routines of his childhood home, we come to the conclusion that you cannot take a place you left behind with you. You can, however, recognize the customs and rituals you did in that place and take them with you in other forms to future places. Through this multimedia installation, the viewer is welcomed to step into Umut's life and discover his richness, disturbance and emotions. In Turkish, Umut means hope. In this project Kaj Zwerver plays the role of the architect in a very personal, almost healing way. In doing this he wants to show us that there is not just one role that the architect can take on.