A few weeks ago, I asked my hairdresser what kinds of colors people were dying their hair lately. I was simply curious. He told me that in the past, he used to receive more unique requests, but now people often come in showing him almost exactly the same photographs.
It is a common issue that we all recognize, but we still participate in it. We follow what everyone else is doing. We evolved together and once lived in caves, where becoming separated from the community meant being more exposed to danger. Perhaps that instinct has never completely disappeared. The fear of being different pushes us towards sameness, even when we claim that we want to be unique.
But at Istanbul's Sakıp Sabancı Museum, a well-known Aquarius artist – not surprisingly – reminded me of the importance of standing apart.
Ilknaz Lauren Bektaş participates in "Draw Circle Painting" at the "Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructure" exhibition at Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul, Türkiye, July 26, 2026. (Photo by İlknaz Lauren Bektaş)
"Yoko Ono: Insound and Instructure," or "İçses ve İçyapı," is currently on view at the museum. Bringing together 67 works from more than 70 years of artistic production, it is the most comprehensive exhibition of Ono's work presented in Türkiye. The curatorial framework was developed by Jon Hendricks and Connor Monahan from Yoko Ono's Studio One, MUSAC Director Alvaro Rodríguez Fominaya and Sakıp Sabancı Museum Director Ahu Antmen.
