2020 Bridges Conference

Serap Ekizler Sonmez & Rumeysa Kis in collaboration with Antalya Olgunlaşma Enstitüsü

Artists

Serap Ekizler Sonmez & Rumeysa Kis in collaboration with Antalya Olgunlaşma Enstitüsü

Serap Ekizler Sonmez / Independent scholar, expert on Anatolian geometric patterns. Rumeysa Kis / interior designer

Serap Ekizler Sönmez / SPDO Architecture. Rumeysa Kis / Persan Tekstil.

Istanbul, Turkey

serapekizler@hotmail.com

http://www.serapekizler.com

http://www.rumeysakis.com

Statement

The most apparent metaphor in this design is cycle. Thus it takes us to the theory of "felek". The term felek, meaning "where the stars float", is embodied in “pinwheel” patterns in art. Each unit cell has a hidden six-pointed star in the design. The six-pointed star is “şekl-I ferd” in Sufism and related to individuality and insan-ı kamil (perfect human being). Two equilateral triangles juxtapose reversely in the centroid, and this refers to “completeness” of masculine and feminine components of human soul in a balanced individual. “Sema” means "whirling", the basis of Sufi rituals in Anatolia.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Sema ( Whirling )'

Sema ( Whirling )

600 x 400 x 2 cm

Needle felt technique on kicked felt fabric

2019

The design in Topkapı Scroll (Necipoğlu, 1995) with a different binding technique is in Al Jum’ah Mosque, Esfahan. Unit cells in the design applied on felt are attached with an interesting binding. It is possible to produce unit cells with a grid made up of equilateral triangles. In the application of “ALI” in Arabic, both inside and outside the hexagonal unit, geometry is combined with calligraphy. The design gets darker from the center to the sides, strongly emphasizing the “divine light” concept, identified with "wisdom" (science). ALI is the gate to science in the Islamic world. Honeycomb alignment of the six-pointed star unit cell refers both to the geometry of nature and the nature of the geometry.