The paintings and ceramic sculptures of Elif Uras explore what she describes as “shifting noti
The paintings and ceramic sculptures of Elif Uras explore what she describes as “shifting notions of gender and class within the context of the struggle between modernity and tradition.” Uras’s sculptures are made onsite in Iznik, Turkey (originally Nicaea, named after a nymph in Greek mythology), a town celebrated for its tile and ceramic production during the Ottoman Empire. Uras’s imagery merges traditional nonfigurative Turkish art with the Western figurative tradition, while also exploring the representation of the female body across cultures.Historically, Iznik reflected the patriarchy of the traditional society, with male artists and craftspeople producing work that adorned the walls of spaces mostly limited to men, such as their segregated quarters in mosques and baths. In Iznik today, women are very dominant in both the management and labor of ceramic production. Uras’s sensous vessels reflect this transformation of gender roles by placing the female figure center stage. Whether depicting women farming olives and making pottery—two industries that connect the present with the past—or alluding to the pregnant body, Uras’s vessels and plates populate the gallery with distinctly feminine forms and imagery. (text from http://aldrichart.org/article/nicaea) -- source link
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