Seha Nur Sarı
THE INVITATION OF LIGHT
The Invitation of Light brings together the individual faces of historical figures and animal images that persist within the collective memory of cultures. The familiar faces of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk disappear, replaced by the wolf, eagle and owl. The historical portrait thus moves beyond the representation of a single individual, becoming a space in which history, myth and collective memory overlap.
These animals are not symbols intended to explain the personalities of the historical figures. Each carries a history beyond individual experience, rooted in the myths, narratives and shared imagery of its culture. When the historical figure and the animal image merge, the resulting face belongs fully to neither human nor animal. As individual identity dissolves, an older, shared and recurring image becomes visible beneath it.
Throughout the series, these images do not remain fixed. The she-wolf of Rome’s foundation myth transforms into the eagle; the Gökbörü of Turkish mythology resurfaces at different historical thresholds; the owl moves between wisdom and ill omen, light and darkness. Images change along with history, yet never disappear entirely. They resurface at different times, through different bodies and with different meanings.
Light here is not merely an element shaping the visual atmosphere of the paintings. It also marks the threshold between seeing, knowing and encountering the unknown. Like the owl that can see in the dark, the series looks towards another layer that persists beneath what is visible. Mythology, history and philosophy do not eliminate this darkness; they briefly illuminate some of the forms within it.
The Invitation of Light explores what continues to live behind the individual face. Images of the collective unconscious pass through cultures, historical ruptures and individual identities, changing form as they do so. Faces change, eras come to an end, new orders are established; some images continue to live.
