Atmospheric image of the exhibited self: Gâvur Mahallesi exhibition on Instagram

Abstract

This paper examines how individuals interact with the spatial atmospheres of artworks in exhibitions as reflected in their social media posts. Understanding this relationship is crucial for exhibitions to gain insights into visitor reception and meaning co-creation. The study introduces a new framework to analyze visitor-generated Instagram posts from Ahmet Güneştekin's Gâvur Mahallesi exhibition. Applying Gernot Böhme's atmosphere generators (reframed as selves objects vectors and mediators in digital atmospheric images) a mixed-methods approach analyzes 438 Instagram posts linked to 71 artworks and tagged at the location. The analysis includes colour palettes filters generator presence/position and thematic analysis of captions/comments. Findings show that popular artworks generate strong spatial atmospheres and visitors actively construct digital selves by adding narratives sometimes challenging original intentions. This research contributes to digital curation museum studies and social media research by offering a method to understand visitor engagement with complex exhibition atmospheres via digital platforms. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.