During installation

Mihrab
Installation collaboration by Hale Ekinci and N. Eden Unluata
3 video projections, pray mat and parabolic sound
2010

Mihrab is a collaborative video installation that intends to point to the parallel nature of material and spiritual as perceived in the contemporary context, where the omnipresence of consumerism and religion, accompanied by their oppressive nature has become almost impossible to separate.

In Islam, one seeking a connection with the spiritual realm turns towards a 'mihrab' to pray in a mosque, which is in the shape of a door, in where the mind travels through to the spiritual realm. In order to reach this realm, one performs namaz (a performative prayer ritual) on pray mat five times a day. However, the door in its material form always remains closed.

In the daily world, the connection to the greater surrounding has been reduced to contain mostly ephemeral matter or in other words the act of consumption, which is accessed by a car that has to travel through a garage door controlled by the individual.

In order to depict the parallel nature of material and spiritual as perceived in the contemporary context, we are using digital means that resemble the genuine experience of spirituality, where the line between material and intangible is permeable.