Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the 'blue tarp aesthetic' in Turkey's Black Sea Highlands, examining how locals engage with state preservation regulations on vernacular architecture on their own terms—a form of irreverent politics, I argue.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the transformation in the vernacular aesthetic of a village in Türkiye's conservative Black Sea highlands that became a popular tourist hub after tourists from the Gulf region began arriving in 2013. It highlights encounters between the state's superficial preservation efforts, dubbed the "veneer state," and the locals' adoption of what I dub a "blue tarp aesthetic." Blue tarp enables residents to engage with the state’s aesthetic game on their own terms, which I argue is comprised of irreverent politics. My analysis details how residents perceive the state's architectural façades, designed to enhance local heritage, as mere veneers that mask deeper structural and socio-political fault lines. Often out of sync with regional architectural needs and traditions, this state-driven aesthetic exemplifies a top-down conservation approach that prioritizes appearance over substance. Residents counter these impositions with the blue tarp aesthetic, signaling temporariness and unfinishedness in response to legal, physical, and environmental challenges. This emergence of a new vernacular aesthetic reflects a pragmatic, nonchalant dismissal of official policies and asserts the continuity of local architectural practices in their pursuit of a livable life. I argue that the aesthetic choices of residents are deeply political, illustrating how vernacular architecture becomes a site for irreverent politics. This political stance does not only dismiss the state's authority to dictate the village's architectural vision, it also upends traditional assumptions about vernacular architecture and its notions of beauty and permanence, positioning the blue tarp as a signature element of the new vernacular aesthetic.