SERHAT KIR - TOWARDS THE SEA

In an era where the relationship between humans and nature is under constant scrutiny, the Melet Basin in Ordu — a city nestled along Turkey’s lush Black Sea coast — stands out as both a geographically and ecologically significant, yet controversial, landscape.
Recent projects aimed at transforming or opening the coastal end of the basin to public use are endangering its natural resources. These interventions not only disrupt the area’s ecological balance — threatening its water sources, plant life, and habitats — but also impose artificial, human-made spaces that alienate viewers from the landscape’s original visual and emotional familiarity.

As these changes unfold, the altered environment drifts further from public perception, shaped by a detachment that reflects a broader disregard for ecological sensitivity. This photo series critically explores these transformations, questioning not only their environmental impact but also broader issues of land ownership, autonomy in land use, and the consequences of reshaping natural space through human intention.