Hold

Merve Ertufan, Multichannel video installation, 2026, 45:00 minutes

Concept and script: Merve Ertufan


Script editor: Mochu
3d Model: Miled Rizk


Production manager and sculpture fabricator: Kıymet Daştan


Tent manufacturer: Dinçer Branda


Metal fabricator: Hakan Bal, Özdemir İş Demir Dekorasyon
Cinematography: Juliette Valentin


Voice over: Merve Ertufan


Hand models: Alla Semenovskaya, Deniz Inal, Chu


Video production studio: BBK Medienwerkstatt


Sound recording studio: Jean Szymczak, Studio P4


Equipment rental: See you RENT
Video editor for multi-channel: Merve Ertufan


Video editor for single-channel: Priyanka Chhabra


VFX and motion graphics: Anmol Jaswal, Merve Ertufan


Assistant: Begüm Yıldırım


3d models: BlenderKit, MeshyAI


Sound design: Suvani Suri & Abhishek Mathur


Sound mastering: Anindo Bose


Translation embedding to Arabic: Mohammed Berro

Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, photo by Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto, Marco Cappelletti Studio

Commissioned by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation for the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026.

"Hold" is a video installation project that reads the world through the act of grasping. The word “grasp” carries two intertwined meanings: to reach for and seize with hands and fingers, or to get hold of something mentally, to comprehend and to understand.

The video explores the entanglements between the design of handles, design of words, extended bodies, out-of-body experiences, and other neuro-cultural conundrums, mixing analytical philosophy, scientific writing, literature, and whimsical reflections.

The 45-minute video combines recorded and found footage with a voice-over by the artist, and exists in both a single-channel and an installation format. The video installation takes the form of a three-channel projection onto a tent-like structure.

Hold

Merve Ertufan, Multichannel video installation, 2026, 45:00 minutes

Concept and script: Merve Ertufan


Script editor: Mochu
3d Model: Miled Rizk


Production manager and sculpture fabricator: Kıymet Daştan


Tent manufacturer: Dinçer Branda


Metal fabricator: Hakan Bal, Özdemir İş Demir Dekorasyon
Cinematography: Juliette Valentin


Voice over: Merve Ertufan


Hand models: Alla Semenovskaya, Deniz Inal, Chu


Video production studio: BBK Medienwerkstatt


Sound recording studio: Jean Szymczak, Studio P4


Equipment rental: See you RENT
Video editor for multi-channel: Merve Ertufan


Video editor for single-channel: Priyanka Chhabra


VFX and motion graphics: Anmol Jaswal, Merve Ertufan


Assistant: Begüm Yıldırım


3d models: BlenderKit, MeshyAI


Sound design: Suvani Suri & Abhishek Mathur


Sound mastering: Anindo Bose


Translation embedding to Arabic: Mohammed Berro

Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, photo by Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto, Marco Cappelletti Studio

Commissioned by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation for the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale 2026.

"Hold" is a video installation project that reads the world through the act of grasping. The word “grasp” carries two intertwined meanings: to reach for and seize with hands and fingers, or to get hold of something mentally, to comprehend and to understand.

The video explores the entanglements between the design of handles, design of words, extended bodies, out-of-body experiences, and other neuro-cultural conundrums, mixing analytical philosophy, scientific writing, literature, and whimsical reflections.

The 45-minute video combines recorded and found footage with a voice-over by the artist, and exists in both a single-channel and an installation format. The video installation takes the form of a three-channel projection onto a tent-like structure.