'A Floor Talisman' by Ezgi Turksoy, site specific installation at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, Istanbul.
Exhibition: Healing Ruins, Curated by Anlam de Coster.
A Floor Talisman is a sculptural ensemble; a circle of 1,5-meter diameter outlined on the ground in hand-made porcelain shell figures, creating a liminal atmosphere within the space. The circle is an ancient symbol in esoteric traditions, geometry, and astrology; it designates a sacred space for protection forming a bridge between the terrestrial and celestial spheres.
The circle stands in for the wholeness of the self, it is a container operating as a safe perimeter or a boundary line for the ritual of healing. As an item with no beginning and no end, it represents the divine loop of birth, death, and renewal.
Over a number of years, Ezgi has been collecting shells, a selection of these have been casted by the artist in porcelain as amulets: objects that are expected to radiate protective power. A shell elicits duality; it serves as a shield protecting the vulnerable creature living within, also they are fragile and break easily. The porcelain shells forming the circle are asymmetrical, ridged, and whorled, stressing the stages of growth and change.
The work’s title ‘A Floor Talisman’ refers to the practice of magic, in this context it is a metaphor for the space it is represented in.
An invisible pentagram marks the circle with the symbols of five elemental forces: air, fire, water, earth, and the spirit (self); a harmonious geometry that allows the five elements to stay in balance for the energy to flow, replenished and transmitted.
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