Men Maim
Plants Reclaim
113 x 101 cm.
linen, felt, lace, embroidery
2021

In 1999 Atakan participated in the  International Women’s Art Festival, in Aleppo, Syria.  At that time she encountered a poor but lively city with colorful streets full of rose petal vendors and ancient hans and baths.  At that time she took touristic photographs at archeological sites.  

Today, after ten years of war, with half a million deaths, 13 million displaced persons, of which 5.6 million are refugees, for her these photographs acquired another level of meaning.  Not wanting to know if these structures remain standing, the artist imagined them being reclaimed by nature.  While the word maim, usually refers to permanently damaging wounds or injuries to the bodies  of people or animals, she uses it to refer to destruction rendered by men to structures as well. 

All images on this site and their copyrights owned by Nancy Atakan unless otherwise stated. Images are not to be reprinted or reused without the expressed permission.