In 2018, the TextielMuseum commissioned Eylem Aladogan to make a piece for its collection in the TextielLab. In this tapestry, she reflects on the ambivalent meaning of beauty in the art of the Ottoman Empire.
In this tapestry, Aladogan reflects on the ambivalent meaning of beauty in the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922). The empire, which was a melting pot of ethnicities, gave rise to a flourishing art industry. According to Aladogan, the refined handwork, expensive materials and graceful motifs from this period not only express wealth and beauty but are also reflective of a regime that came to power through violence and oppression. The inspiration for Red Thread was a red velvet Ottoman kaftan decorated with gold embroidery. The stylised mountain scene on which the mantle is integrated refers to the routes that people have taken to escape violence, such as the recent exodus of Syrian refugees, and the historical persecution of the Armenians by the Ottomans.
Aladogan worked intensively on the loom and embroidery machine in the TextielLab. Finding the right colour nuances, three-dimensionality and gloss effects were central to her creative process. Together with the weaving expert, she experimented with various coloured yarns: from deep wine red to intense vermillion, and from brilliant gold to soft green. Inspired by Ottoman patterns, she developed floral and plant motifs on the embroidery machine which used as the basis for a mold that she cast in silicone. Through this inventive adaptation of two-dimensional patterns into sculptural forms, the plant motifs literally grow out of the flat surface.
Aladogan (The Netherlands, 1975) makes drawings, sculptures and installations. She studied at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. In 2005, she won the ABN AMRO Art Prize. In 2008, she had a solo exhibition of installations in the Kröller-Müller Museum. In addition, her drawings and installations were exhibited in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam in 2009. In the same year, she won the Volkskrant Visual Art Prize.
