WHERE THERE IS SHADOW, THERE MUST BE LIGHT

Brightness and darkness, as opposite states, are shaped on the basis of the presence or absence of light. In this regard, light is the basic element that determines the relationship between brightness and darkness. Opposites cannot be together at the same time and in the same place. However, they can be in the same place at different times or in different places at the same time. When light is present in the space, it is bright, and when it is absent, it is dark. What is decisive and essential here is the third thing: Light.

While brightness and darkness are shaped on the basis of the presence and absence of light, another element that bears traces of darkness emerges in the presence of light. Shadow.

There is a unique situation for the shadow. It bears traces of both brightness and darkness without full brightness or darkness. It occurs as a result of the light falling into the space as partial darkness as a result of encountering an obstacle that it cannot overcome. In other words, brightness and darkness show space for each other in the same space, forming the shadow, and the shadow becomes a hybrid expression of this sharing. Shadow is not fully bright because the effect of darkness is present; it is not fully dark because the effect of light is present. In the space where it falls, it shows a continuous and uninterrupted metamorphosis in the form of partial darkness with the effect of light. This feature of the shadow constitutes another concept in Islamic belief. Time.

Time refers to the performance of religious practices in certain time periods, which are determined by the movements of the sun and the moon (prayer, fasting, pilgrimage). These time periods are determined by the angle and strength of the light falling on the space, which in turn creates the rhythm of religious practices. The perpetual and uninterrupted continuation of religious practices within this cosmic order on the one hand explains the temporariness of everything created, including time, and on the other hand reminds us of the harmony of universal rhythm with human nature.

In the cosmic system we live in, the directness of the sunlight and the moonlight, which finds its place in the night as a result of mirroring the sun, has been the main determinant. While shadow caused by light and time caused by shadow are so valuable in human nature and Islamic belief...

For the 3rd Yeditepe Biennial, we asked ourselves a question;

IS IT TIME

to use light and shadow in classical arts?