TO SEE YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR OF NOTHINGNESS

• Armağan Ulusoy's solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures titled "In the Mirror of Nothingness" was on display at The Best Art Gallery between April 9-21. The exhibition featured the artist's works focusing on the process of 'becoming "nothing" by purifying oneself from the ego, finding existence in nothingness' in parallel with Sufi thought.

Armağan Ulusoy, who has combined her architectural profession and artistic endeavors for many years, presented her solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures titled "In the Mirror of Nothingness" at The Best Art Gallery. Curated by Meryem Ipek and Mithat Köksal, the exhibition featured the artist's works focusing on the process of 'becoming "nothing" by shedding the self, finding existence in non-existence'.

In addition to paintings, ceramic pots and goddess statues were arranged in line with this Sufi thought. Mother goddess figures such as Umay Ana in Turkish mythology, as well as goddesses from classical Greek and Roman mythology, were depicted both as ceramic sculptures and paintings.

In her manifesto, Armağan Ulusoy expresses the philosophy of existence/non-existence as follows:

“‘While everyone in this world strives to be something, you be nothing. Let your destination be nothingness. A human being should be no different from a clay pot. Just as what holds the pot together is not its outer form but the emptiness within, what sustains a human being is not the self but the consciousness of nothingness.’

The story of the jars in the exhibition began to take shape in my mind with this quote from Shams-i Tabrizi. The mirror hanging inside the jar's lid, like the surface of water, both shows your face and calls you to what lies beyond. When you look into it, you both encounter yourself and fall into the void. The work silently asks: Is what you call 'me' the truth or merely an image? These jars are not only for storing provisions or water. Each carries a story, a symbol, a call within. The goddess figures and ancient symbols surrounding and on the lids of the jars are like silent guardians of this void. These bodies and signs born from the earth carry the memory of the ancient world to the present day. When we tire of striving to be something, let us be like a clay pot. The earth…” With patience. With the serenity of having been through fire. Instead of filling ourselves with titles, images, and the gaze of others, by diminishing ourselves a little. Let us not forget. A person is as deep as the emptiness within them.”