• Italy: Ciao Bella
    2The last time I tried the "ebru" technique was in Beypazarı ... in 2011.
    From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.2From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.From Mine Tülek's "What Water Expresses" marbling exhibition at TSF — Alsancak, İzmir.

    İzmir: TSF … What Water Expresses

    June 3 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    TSF = Tekel Sanat Fabrikası (Tekel Arts Factory); formally … İzmir Kültür Sanat Fabrikası (İzmir Culture & Arts Factory)

    This was our destination today.

    The Tekel facility in Alsancak was once a cigarette factory that dated back to the late 19th century. In 2004, it ceased operation and the now-defunct buildings were re-purposed as a cultural and artistic center. Today, the various renovated buildings house several museums, libraries, event spaces, and cultural and social areas where one can attend seminars, workshops, and ateliers.

    Having explored the museums soon after TSF opened in 2023, our purpose for visiting today was to check out a temporary art exhibition. Yes … another one! What can I say? As hot as it’s been, we’re seeking out places that not only offer visual enjoyments, but air conditioning as well.

    I was expecting that the exhibition would be in one of the event spaces as they have been in the past. Turns out that it was installed in one of the halls of the İzmir Archaeology and Ethnography Museum.

    Temporary exhibitions in the event spaces have traditionally been free. The museum, on the other hand, charges admission. No worries in our case. Age has its privileges … no admission for Turkish citizens who are 65+. We showed our IDs at the ticket booth and received two free tickets to go inside.

    The exhibition we were interested in featured pieces created by Mine Tülek using the “ebru” technique … the Turkish art of paper marbling. AI describes the process as involving “… sprinkling and brushing color pigments onto a pan of thickened, oily water to create swirling patterns, which are then carefully transferred onto a sheet of paper.”

    The installation was small but worth taking the time to visit. I’ve tried my hand at this technique at “living museums” where cultural stories and methods are kept alive with demonstrations. It’s not as easy as one might think, so I appreciated what was on display … especially the more complex pieces. There were also short poems accompanying several of the pieces and QR codes that one could scan to listen to different pieces of music that fit the theme of the art.

    Since we were there anyway, after we perused the “ebru art,” we decided to go for a wander around the museum … coming up in the next footprint.    Read more