By Semra Eren-Nijhar
Talented fashion designer and artist Esengül Şaşı brings the costumes of the Turkish Republic Revolution to life with this unique exhibition to mirror the modernization which was the sociopolitical and cultural enlightenment of Turkey.
In her work we can see the influence of the reforms which were introduced and embraced by the nation.The words by the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk “If women do not share in the social life of the nation, we shall never attain to our full development’ influenced Esengül’s work and it is not surprising that Esengül captures women at the center of her work as women rights were one of the biggest steps in modernizing and empowering women in Turkey.
This exhibition comes to life at the same time when 8 March is celebrated all around the world as ‘World Women’s Day’.
The exhibition is composed in six sections on the themes ‘Turkish Republic Revolution’, ‘The Turkish Language Reform’, ‘The Hat Reform’, ‘The Dress Reform’, ‘A Nation without Art’ and ‘Sabiha Gökçen – The first Turkish female pilot and the world’s first female fighter jet pilot’.
In each section Esengül is not only showing the effect and the meaning of the reforms through her designs but also captures women as powerful massages and strong individuals for making and influencing the society.
The section ‘A Nation without Art’ points to the importance of art in society and also is the hallmark of the artist herself.
Art doesn’t have borders.
Art plays a big part in shaping the thinking of the society and art is the representation of the people, a range of human activities in creating visual artwork. Esengül as an artist used her imagination with her emotional power combined them with her technical skills and influenced her work with the history of her country of origin, Turkey.The result is the ‘Costumes of the Revolution’.
The sky is not the ultimate limit.
And not surprisingly her section on ‘Sabiha Gökçen – The first Turkish female pilot and the world’s first female fighter jet pilot’ shows that not only her own vision is beyond the sky but also the vision of all the women in society.
Exhibition until 6th of April 2017
