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. In Haunted Fields (for the love of my Father), Aladogan examines Ottoman motifs from the perspective of her own history. Her father came to the Netherlands from Turkey as a labour migrant. He is a Kurd, a minority in Turkey. The stylised floral motifs in this tapestry reminded him of the country where he was born but had no future.
Aladogan worked intensively on the loom and embroidery machine in the TextielLab. Finding the right colour nuances 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.
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.
