İstanbul Modern Adds Claudia Pagès Rabal’s 'Beş Savunma Kulesi' to Its Collection Display

İstanbul Modern has announced a new addition to its collection with Claudia Pagès Rabal’s 'Beş Savunma Kulesi' ('Five Defensive Towers'), an installation now on view at the museum’s mezzanine floor. The work was presented in the 18th Istanbul Biennial and has entered the museum context as a 34-minute video installation accompanied by five illuminated panels.

The museum shared the news in a brief statement introducing the work as the newest member of its collection. According to İstanbul Modern, the piece is installed on the mezzanine level, where visitors can experience it by reclining. The post frames the work as an immersive presentation rather than a conventional screen-based display, with the panels and video forming a single installation.

Pagès Rabal’s work arrives at İstanbul Modern from the 18th Istanbul Biennial, placing the museum’s new acquisition in direct continuity with one of the city’s most visible contemporary art platforms. The announcement does not provide further curatorial details, but it identifies the work’s format clearly: a 34-minute video paired with five lighted panels. That combination suggests a materially layered installation, built around viewing, light and spatial arrangement.

İstanbul Modern’s collection updates often bring biennial-era works into the museum’s public display, and this addition emphasizes the institution’s role in extending the life of contemporary installations after their initial presentation. In this case, the museum is foregrounding both the work’s recent biennial context and its physical presentation within the museum, where the visitor encounters the piece from a reclining position.

The museum’s post does not list a separate exhibition title beyond the work itself, and it does not specify an end date for the display. It does, however, make clear that 'Beş Savunma Kulesi' has begun to appear on the mezzanine floor as part of İstanbul Modern’s collection holdings.

Claudia Pagès Rabal’s installation is therefore being presented not as a one-off screening, but as a museum collection work with a defined spatial setup: video, five illuminated panels and an audience positioned to lie back while viewing. The announcement marks its latest public presentation at İstanbul Modern, alongside the museum’s note that the work is now part of its collection.