Vocational School of Justice
USING FELT TO TELL THE STORY OF WOMEN
The woman, who symbolizes femininity, continuity of life, will be expressed via felt. Prof. Dr. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır, Head of IUE Department of Fashion and Textile Design, and Lecturer Jovita Sakalauskaite Kurnaz, will tell the story of evolution of woman, her ability to give life, and her death through the objects they created with felt. The exhibition will take place at Kaunas College - University of Applied Sciences Art Gallery in Lithuania in May.
Prof. Dr. Elvan Özkavruk Adanır indicated that they’ve encountered the cult of Mother Goddess / Earth Goddess under different names in many cultures and civilizations throughout the history. She said, “Figurines of Mother Goddess exist in Anatolia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Greta Britain, Northern Europe and Mediterranean Basin. We see that woman is perceived as the mother goddess in the Far East, Japan, India, and Africa. Mother Goddess generally symbolizes femininity, fertility, productivity, abundance and therefore it is regarded as the source of all life. We would like to flaunt that woman is indeed a mother goddess again in present time.”
‘Challenging and Fascinating Path of Felt’
They named the exhibition, “Sonsuz Döngü: Ortaya Çıkmak, Hayat Vermek, Ortadan Kaybolmak (The Eternal Cycle: Appearing, Giving Life, Disappearing)”, indicated Prof. Dr. Adanır and she said that Mother Goddess, an influential concept for many different cultures on earth, was the starting point for their project, and that they preferred to use felt because it was very easy to work with, and could be shaped into nearly any form. Prof. Dr. Adanır said that they would create three dimensional objects based on mother goddess figurines, and they would tell the story of appearing, giving life, and disappearing.
‘The Power of Woman in Male-Dominant Society…’
Prof. Dr. Adanır stated the following about the exhibition:
“Three, large objects made of felt symbolize the appearance, life giving, and disappearance of woman. After the woman appears, she gives life for the continuity of life, and then she disappears. Women have always been valued more than men throughout the history because of their ability to give birth. While they have been regarded as sacred, they have been treated as second class citizens when they are seen as a sexual object that are insulted and committed violence against. Male-dominant societies have been experiencing this dilemma all throughout the history. Even the greatest humanitarian developments in the 20th century were not strong enough to take positive steps about this issue. Equity between woman and man could not be achieved in its real sense. We would like to create awareness about this inequality and the power of woman with our project.”