Photo Exhibitions
Photo Exhibition: “100 fele Iszlam – 100 Reflections of Islam”
Photos by Jens Helmstedt were shown during the open air photography exhibition “100 fele Iszlam – 100 reflections of Islam” in Pecs, Hungary.
100 artworks of international photographers were displayed between May 28 and June 3, 2008 on the Szechenyi Square in Pecs.
The city of Pecs in Hungary, Istanbul in Turkey and Essen in Germany are the three European Cultural City in 2010.
Exhibition concept
In 2010, Europe will have three cultural capitals: Essen in Germany, the Turkish Istanbul and the Hungarian Pecs. Between East (Istanbul) and West (Essen) Pecs is in half-way, so the call reflects also on unifying Europe and on the diversity of cultures acknowledging the power of imaginative geographies. As today the role of religion is strengthening again both in the search for identity and the political, public discourses, we would like to present these three cities by their common religious heritage.
Islam is the most dynamic world religion today. After Christianity, it is the second largest religion with 1 billion 322 million followers. Islam is so diverse that some even speak today about “Islams”, in the plural. The Muslim mode of life, system of belief and world-views are manifested in the cities: through clothing, architecture, behaviour, commerce and application of law. We would like to offer this diversity – traditions, contemporary problems and local solutions – to the audience with the help of contemporary photography.
All the three cities are influenced by the past or present of Islam while they embody by default hybrid worlds: Pecs (Pecuj) was transformed under the 150 year Ottoman rule into an Eastern, Balkan city whose architectural memoirs are respected treasures today. At the same time, famous ancient Christian casemates are to be found in Pecs and the exemplary common existence of Germans (Schwab), Hungarians, Croatians, the Roma and Serbians.
Istanbul also unifies Christianity and the Muslim past and present because it was once Byzantium which was conquered by the Muslim Ottoman Turks in 1453. It became the capital of the Ottoman Empire, one of the most beautiful cities of Islam. Although since 1923 Turkey is a secular state, today Islam or rather the Muslim mode of life is in the forefront of heated debates. The past and present of Istanbul is symbolized by its geographical location – on the borderlines of Europe and Asia. Essen is the fifth largest city in Germany. 17 nationalities are living together in the city. Turks, Kurds, Arabs, black Africans and the refugees of war from the Balkans are represented in the largest numbers: the majority are Muslims. The economic recession lead to unusual high percentage of unemployment and to the tension between the different groups and cultures. In Essen, the present of European Islam is formed also by the economic problems.
Curators
Luca Göbölyös, Balogh Rudolf-prize winning photographer, curator of the “100 views of Transylvania” exhibition, and invited lecturer in the photography at Werk Academy. Adam Mestyan, historian and Arabist, instructor in Arabic at the Central European University (CEU) and invited lecturer in the history of Islam at ELTE University.
One of the photos showed during Photo Exhibition “100 fele Iszlam” in Pecs, Hungary:
Sema – The Whirling Dervishs of Konya
The ritual of SEMA, the mystic dance of turning Mevlevi dervishs found its origin in an inspiration of the mystical islamic philosopher Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, who lived and taught in 13. century in the centralanatolian city of Konya.
Accompanied by the sounds of the flute NEY and other instruments, the whirling dervish is turning around his own axis, the right hand upward to be ready to receice GOD s beneficence and the left hand downward to the earth. It symbols the mankind with their connection between heaven and earth.
“Sema” by Jens Helmstedt is available as Greeting Card and Wall Art Print. International delivery.
Photo Exhibition Concepts
Various exhibition concepts with color and black/white photos from Turkey, e.g. Istanbul Traces – Nature of Anatolia – Turkey: Nature, history, people, art and culture, Mystical Islam – Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi and the Whirling Dervishs – Spirit of Anatolia …
For more details and recent concepts, please contact me by e-mail
