De innerlijke ruimte

This is a corner just by the entrance door of Örebro art college in Sweden. A simple, ordinary table is standing there for years and sending the same message: " You can take everything put on this table." It also means "If you want to share something, you could put it here." Anything put on this table can be taken by someone. This is a place provides the space to reflect how we think about our behavior of owning things, and how we share in our community. This simple table with the simple concept of sharing changes people's mindset. 

"Something I do not need anymore,
Might be something you are looking for.
Something I do not like anymore,
Might be something you are attracted to.”

The table is just a start, a median. Inspired by this table, people here stop buying new cloth instead of changing cloth regularly. People go out of this place and continue to spread the influence wider, further, and deeper. Sometimes, to change a place, to change something does not need a big, complex project. It matters how a place and the people grow together with the time.

An inclusive 'space', attracts more people, interaction occurs, activity lasts making it a vibrant 'place' through which a city breathes. Artwork is a public place promenade in Mumbai representing people's cognitive expressions, behavioral and sensorial patterns offering city uniqueness, identity and a sense of 'place'. Our cities are built for their people and the experience such public spaces imprint in our minds lasts forever. There are memories of socio-cultural exchanges and associations that strengthen our nostalgic senses as we revisit such 'places'. We can never imagine a 'place' without its people.

Pocket Park

The original site is located in Rasphuis Street, in Ghent, Belgium. The area chosen for the project is a small plot between two houses. Some elements have a significant presence in the original site such as vegetation that grows on the soil and in the walls. Furthermore, the vertical walls around the site have a significant visual presence due to the houses on the sides. Instead of building another house, I proposed a pocket park.

Nature itself is sensorial. Thus, in this project, the pocket park is a means used for the expansion of green spaces in the neighborhood.

Using elements that already exist on site, in this small park project, the plants are free to develop naturally, respecting the changing seasons and the needs of the nature throughout the cycles.

Vertical wooden structures are placed to emphasize the sense of verticality that is present in the site and to resemble trees that cannot be placed in this small space due to the roots and proximity to the houses. In addition, the wooden structures have different sizes and diameters to simulate the diversity of trees, and the small slope at the top of them serves to emphasize the presence and sound of rainwater in the park when it is raining, and for the water does accumulate on the top.

The marsh of Monastir (in Tunisia) is a favorable environment for a delegation of migratory birds such as "flamingos", as well as many other types of birds such as ducks and various types of gulls. Despite the construction of the airport and the metro line that crosses the marsh, the birds have remained attached to this ecological station and have not abandoned it. One of the characteristics of this bird is that it forms incubators, as some husbands stay to guard the chicks, while the others start bringing food from nearby slums and distant places to return to their seat to feed their young at sunset. This place is then associated with birth, fertility and life.

Due to the sewage being poured into this lake, the number of birds gradually decreased and the birds' nests became empty.

This problem inspired me to create my project. According to different cultures, the egg is considered a symbol of life, fertility and the victory of the love of life over the darkness of death. According to Finnish legend, the egg is the beginning of the universe or the beginning in which the universe was born.

The legend says that the goddess "Luonnotar" spent her life alone in the vast emptiness of space.  Then she fell from the sky to the earth. Then the seagull came from the distant horizon, and on her lap she built her nest. Then the goddess felt a heat flowing through her body, as if her knee was burning and her veins were melting, the bird laid her eggs on her knee, which trembled, then the eggs rolled on the water and were broken. From the lower part of the eggs was formed the earth, mother of all beings; from their upper part, the sublime sky; from their yellow parts, the radiant sky; from their white part, the bright moon; their speckled debris became stars; their black debris the clouds of the air. "Luonnotar" continued the process of creation, creating the seas, bays and shores, and the depths of the oceans.

From this legend I began my project . I made a sculpture in the shape blue phoenix with two large wings protruding from its head, The phoenix bird symbolizes immortality, resurrection and life after death but this time the bird is weak and his heart is bleeding , I chose the blue to be in harmony with the blue of the sky and the marshes, and to contrast with the color of the ground. Then I distributed a group of gypsum eggs among the marsh grass, indicating that this place is the source of life, fertility and birth so we should protect it and stop polluting it . I colored the eggs blue, referring to male birth, pink to female birth, and purple gradient, which is the mix between pink and blue for other sexual orientations. Then I took photographs of the installation to document it, as the final work will be in the form of photographs, as I have no desire to leave the installation in the marsh or to make the marsh an open exhibition space where I wish to preserve the purity and tranquility of the place and its vitality without leaving a trace, as I am ultimately interested in the images that perpetuate the trace.

"City of Cats" refers to one of the poorer district of the city of Sousse. There are a lot of cats there, hence the moniker. The vivid blue buildings and antique doors that draw us in with their decor are what make this region distinctive. The generosity and compassionate handling of cats shown by the locals in this area set them unique. I recently came to this specific place after becoming disoriented in one of its little alleyways. Until I was helped by a group of kids I noticed, who in the meantime put sardines to feed the cats, whom in turn rushed in from all directions as soon as they scented the fish. This area seems to be a cat's paradise on earth, as cats live there contentedly and joyously. From this point on, I had the notion to use the blue walls of the houses as mirrors to symbolize the comfortable lifestyle that cats enjoy . I affixed the wallpaper that had been printed with my digital paintings, which were inspired by the gaming world, with the assistance of the neighborhood youngsters. The blue houses' exteriors resembled the sky and the sea, therefore clouds were added to make them look like the sky. Afterwards, a few cats were scattered among the homes to give the impression that they were pursuing a school of fish. these posters depict cats coexisting peacefully, which reflects the privacy of the place. i decided to stick the posters on these houses precisely because of their vast roofs and their shading, to ensure their durability. The kids were ecstatic about this project, and they were even more ecstatic when they realized that cats are like cartoon characters, and that the colors they use are ones that kids are familiar with. This stoked their enthusiasm for helping me cut out the posters and glue them on.