Istanbul-based multidisciplinary artist Hera Büyüktaşçıyan's solo exhibition "Earthbound Whisperers" will be displayed at one of the U.K.'s most prominent galleries, Tate St. Ives, with a conversation session with the museum's director, Anne Barlow.
As part of the collaboration between SAHA Studio, which fosters hospitality, interaction and production program for artists and curators, and Tate St. Ives, the exhibition will open its doors to art enthusiasts on May 27.
Employing textiles, graphite, sound and vertical forms, Büyüktaşcıyan connects the ancient monument in the U.K.'s Cornwall "Nine Maidens" stone row to social and environmental history through her works in the exhibition. She materializes sculpted fabric forms that symbolize archaeological layers and hidden lithic surfaces beneath veils and folds. Inspired by the "Nine Maidens," the artist explores the dynamics beneath the surface and invisibility through these anthropomorphic monoliths.
According to Celtic mythology, the maidens were turned into stones for singing during the Sabbath. Büyüktaşcıyan draws a parallel between these mythical characters and the silent female workers who camouflaged military and civilian buildings in the Crysede silk factory in St. Ives during World War II. The installation is accompanied by a sound piece that invites visitors to navigate the landscape. Through this composition, the artist investigates human traces in nature and explores policies of invisibility and cumulative history.
