Anahita Razmi
TALISMANIC POLARITIES #01, 2023
Islamic talismanic shirt & metal buttons
99 x 112 cm
39 x 44 in
39 x 44 in
---- 'O you who are wrapped up in garments, Arise and warn and your Lord glorify and your garments purify' The Qur'an (74: 1–4) 'Meaning is not in things but...
----
"O you who are wrapped up in garments,
Arise and warn
and your Lord glorify
and your garments purify"
The Qur'an (74: 1–4)
"Meaning is not in things but in between them."
Norman O. Brown
-----
Anahita Razmi's work TALISMANIC POLARITIES was created after the artists' residency at Tarabya Cultural Academy Tarabya in Istanbul in 2021 and 2023, during which she extensively researched the history of Talismanic shirts in Turkey and other Islamic Middle Eastern contexts.
A Talismanic shirt (Turkish: tılsımlı gömlek) is a textile talisman object meant to offer protection & and bring blessings to its wearer. Historical textile examples can be found in various parts of the Islamic world.
For TALISMANIC POLARITIES, Razmi contrasts the signs, symbols, and religious writings inscribed onto a series of unique Islamic Talismanic shirts with a selection of pins & buttons usually worn in very different cultural spheres ranging from pop culture to politics.
By combining these objects of the 'Past' & the 'Present', the 'East' & the 'West', the 'Profane' & the 'Sacred', TALISMANIC POLARITIES forces us to ask questions about these divisions & how we assign meanings to them.
"O you who are wrapped up in garments,
Arise and warn
and your Lord glorify
and your garments purify"
The Qur'an (74: 1–4)
"Meaning is not in things but in between them."
Norman O. Brown
-----
Anahita Razmi's work TALISMANIC POLARITIES was created after the artists' residency at Tarabya Cultural Academy Tarabya in Istanbul in 2021 and 2023, during which she extensively researched the history of Talismanic shirts in Turkey and other Islamic Middle Eastern contexts.
A Talismanic shirt (Turkish: tılsımlı gömlek) is a textile talisman object meant to offer protection & and bring blessings to its wearer. Historical textile examples can be found in various parts of the Islamic world.
For TALISMANIC POLARITIES, Razmi contrasts the signs, symbols, and religious writings inscribed onto a series of unique Islamic Talismanic shirts with a selection of pins & buttons usually worn in very different cultural spheres ranging from pop culture to politics.
By combining these objects of the 'Past' & the 'Present', the 'East' & the 'West', the 'Profane' & the 'Sacred', TALISMANIC POLARITIES forces us to ask questions about these divisions & how we assign meanings to them.
