GROUP EXHIBITION | SOUVENIRS OF THE FUTURE, PERA MUSEUM, ISTANBUL

In her site-specific installation Double Niche produced for the exhibition, Elif Uras explores motifs and forms that reference prehistory with a contemporary approach. The mosaics laid out on the floor and ceiling are inspired by the “hand on the waist” motif thought to represent abundance and fertility and likened to the female form used widely in kilim and tapestries in Anatolia. The division of this geometric motif into ceramic pieces renders its pixels visible with reference to digital visual language. Uras interprets the repeating geometric rim designs in Kütahya ceramics by transforming them into the geometric form that most resembles the human figure. The light beams emanating from the ceiling recall domed Ottoman buildings like mosques and bathhouses. Meanwhile, an alcove in the room hosts a sculpture titled Goddess of the Moon, inspired by the statues of women from the paleolithic era found in Çatalhöyük, depicted sitting down and headless with thin necks and accentuated breasts and curves. The cave mouths and niche forms painted in this period are interpreted as symbols of holiness or worship spaces. The installation presents a rich realm of references spanning from prehistorical sculptures and murals to kilim and ceramic ornaments.

Artists: Adriana Varejão, Aslı Çavuşoğlu, Bilal Yılmaz, Burçak Bingöl, Candice Lin, Deniz Eroglu, Elif Uras, Francesco Simeti, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Livia Marin, Metehan Törer, Neven Allgeier, oddviz, Skuja Braden, Taner Ceylan, Volkan Aslan, Yasemin Özcan, Zsófia Keresztes

October 28, 2023