Artful Living
Ahmet Yiğider’s “Ant Nest” Exhibition at CerModern
Ahmet Yiğider’s solo exhibition “Ant Nest” is currently on view at CerModern in Ankara and will run until March 23.
Curated by Dilek Karaaziz Şener, the exhibition offers viewers a multifaceted sensory experience. As they navigate the spiral layout of a monumental sculpture constructed from metal and fabric, visitors are enveloped in the scent of ants, accompanied by an immersive sound installation.
Yiğider’s project is rooted in a fusion of science and art, focusing on ants as eusocial superorganisms and their unique modes of olfactory communication. Actions such as hunting, locating food, storing provisions, ensuring security, engaging in combat, adhering to social rules, and sanctioning nonconformity are all mediated by pheromone release and reception. In specially designed olfactively-free glass test chambers, Yiğider observes ant interactions under varying stress conditions and investigates the volatile molecules released during these interactions using both sensory analysis and analytical chemistry. Through molecular analysis of the ants’ body tissues, he has identified more than 1,000 distinct compounds—an olfactory archive he describes as “a vast encyclopedia of nature.”
For Yiğider, smell—one of the most fundamental indicators of life—is both a conceptual and chemical reality. Using advanced instrumentation such as Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), he analyzes the molecular components that constitute ant odor profiles. GC-MS is a high-precision analytical method widely used in chemistry, biology, genetics, and forensic science.
Regarding the conceptual background of the project, Yiğider states:
“Some of the volatile compounds identified through analytical methods offer clues about the olfactory character of ant secretions. By combining this complex molecular breakdown with sensory analysis, I was able to formulate a composition that makes ‘ant smell’ accessible to human perception. Although ants may be among the smallest visible life forms, they constitute the largest animal biomass on Earth—and through this work, I wanted to draw attention to a silent narrative, a whisper between ants and humans.”
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication of a new book titled “Sensuality in Sculpture & The Ant Nest: Ahmet Yiğider”, released by Masa Publishing. The volume features essays by Alistair Hicks, Emre Zeytinoğlu, Vedat Ozan, and editor-curator Dilek Karaaziz Şener. The contributors explore the role of scent in art, the conceptual framework of the Ant Nest project, and the notion of sensuality in Yiğider’s sculptural expression.
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