In June, my work Between the Light and Void was featured in the group exhibition Beneath the Layers: DUALITY at Rüstem Bookshop Gallery in Nicosia, Cyprus. Curated by Sarvenaaz Ghafari, the exhibition brought together artists from different countries to explore dualities related to identity, emotion, culture, and space.
For me, this was not only an opportunity to participate in an exhibition but also a chance to become part of a new artistic community and to share my practice at my homeland Cyprus . Between the Light and Void, a piece that investigates the silent space where the sense of belonging becomes suspended between two places, offered a personal perspective within the framework of the exhibition theme.
Throughout the exhibition, the artists I met, the dialogues we shared, and the responses from the audience provided me with new perspectives on my work. This experience will continue to accompany me, both personally and artistically, for a long time.
I would like to thank everyone involved in this meaningful process, and especially curator Sarvenaaz Ghafari.
About the . Between the Light and Void
The work reflects my sense of fragmentation between two different places, and a resulting inquiry into belonging — shaped by an emotional and spatial duality.
The dark, undefined upper surface symbolizes the state of not belonging to a clearly defined or claimed space. This area, though flat and opaque, does not speak of what has been excluded, but rather of what could not be entered.
The lighter, textured lower part bears the traces of a soul attempting to make space for itself — to construct a new sense of belonging over time. Though stitched and structured with lines, this part remains unfinished, scattered, and permeable — much like the disorientation that comes from never fully feeling at home.
The stitched area in between becomes a map of a self drifting between Cyprus, where the artist was born, and Ankara, where she lives. It hovers in a fragile, shifting space — not fully inside, nor completely outside. These oppositions evolve into a core duality within the work: inside and outside, belonging and estrangement, silence and expression.
Between the Light and Void questions the artist’s relationship to the idea of “home”:
Is home a physical place, or an emotional bond? And if one never fully feels at home anywhere — where can belonging take root?
This piece carries the marks of both rupture and reconstruction.
It bears silent witness not only to the places we inhabit, but also to the sense of belonging that may never fully inhabit us.
And perhaps it quietly asks:
“Between two places you do not belong to — can you create a space of your own?” p.s. Thanks to sinbozkurtphoto for the wonderful photos
