Say "O"

a textile book about  I watched their performance online, after the criminal case was opened against them. The book was a response to both the performance and the speech in court. I wanted to draw people’s attention to this case.

Creating art about current tragic events is important to me physically as well, as it extends the moment of reflection. We endlessly scroll through news–there’s so much of it. Embroidery, for me, is an opportunity to pause on one of these events and, in a way, fully experience it.

I was deeply moved by the recording of the performance—how the lighting, costumes, and text were all so thoughtfully crafted, along with the fairy tale itself. I remember watching the film »Finist the Bright Falcon« as a child. My book has two layers: one layer is the court speech on white fabric, and the other layer conveys fragments of the performance through different textures.

I tried to reflect the heroine’s journey—how she meets someone, then leaves, and is promised many things, but eventually faces disappointment. As you turn the pages, the layers gradually overlap, and at the end, there is a rhyme-question: »Aty-baty, who’s coming out? Aty-baty, it’s me!« So, the final page is a broken mirror—where the viewer looks at themselves.

The book is wrapped in a headscarf, and on it is embroidered an open letter »O.« In the play, there is a line: »An important part of the uniform is the headscarf, which you must wear at all times outside the camera. This is necessary so that the prisoners don’t get the wrong idea that they are equal to the guards. Put the scarf on your head. The two ends should hang over your shoulders. Tie the scarf under your chin. Open your mouth, as if pronouncing the letter ‘O’, to make sure the scarf stays in place.«

This reference to the headscarf, with its symbolic power and intimate connection to control, is also mirrored in the structure and meaning of the book. It’s not just a narrative—it’s a way to actively engage the viewer, to make them confront their own reflections within the context of these events.