Nancy Atakan

Step by Step

Fabric remnants, thread, chain, costume jewelry, poetry, embroidery
Site-specific installation
2024

step by step
my sisters
intuition instinct collaboration

on our path
with confident steps

from generation to generation
stronger
together my sisters
step by step

This installation, designed by the artist to be displayed on stair steps and based on her poem describing the qualities of women, can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. This gradual, cyclical movement expresses the challenges women face as they gain strength from generation to generation.

The structure of the work references anklets and bracelets. Anklets, predominantly seen in Southeastern Anatolia, have played an important role in the culture since ancient times. Although their form may appear contemporary to us, they actually reflect an old tradition. By using this timeless and universal object, the artist brings together the traditional and the contemporary.

Similarly, the bracelets worn by women in Anatolia—especially those passed down as keepsakes from one generation to the next—are considered precious treasures. Gold bracelets, often given as gifts at weddings, are also seen as expressions of love and devotion that can become a woman’s only form of wealth.