- Title: With fearsome metal skulls and horns, Turkish artist re-interprets ancient myths
- Date: 18th September 2018
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 5, 2018) (REUTERS) GREEN SMOKE AND FLAMES COMING OUT OF SKULLS VARIOUS OF TURKISH ARTIST, AHMET GUNESTEKIN, WELDING SKULLS REFLECTION OF WELDING FLAMES ON GUNESTEKIN'S GLASSES GUNESTEKIN WELDING SKULLS AND WALKING AWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH ARTIST, AHMET GUNESTEKIN, SAYING: "Throughout the history, mankind has always sought immortality.
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2018 12:12
- Keywords: skulls in art Chamber of immortality world's first temple Gobeklitepe skulls and horns epic of Gilgamesh
- Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA0018Y5JQ6X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Although inspired by the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh and a 12,000-year-old temple, the latest work from a Turkish artist seems more like the dark fantasy of a horror film.
Ahmet Gunestekin's "Chamber of Immortality" is a fearsome artwork crafted from thousands of metal skulls and horns, all made by hand. Gunestekin says his work is, in part, a retelling of the story of the ancient Sumerian king Gilgamesh, who embarked on an unsuccessful journey to find the secret to immortality.
The centrepiece, an enormous skull made from 11,000 smaller skulls, also draws on the Biblical story of Noah, which shares some similarities with that of Gilgamesh. Noah survived a flood with his family and animals on an ark, which some believe eventually landed on Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak.
Some 11 thousand skulls were joined together to form one skull (Noah). I made a horn that comes out of his mouth like a tongue. In a way, it shows how the concepts of human and animal are nested within one another," Gunestekin says.
The large skull represents Noah, while the tongue-like horn that spills from its mouth represents animals, Gunestekin said.
The piece, which took 4-1/2 years and $1 million to create, is done in a circular shape that Gunestekin said is inspired by Gobeklitepe, a 12,000-year-old temple in Turkey that this year became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A self-taught artist, Gunestekin is known for his unconventional techniques to depict oral narratives, myth and legends mainly from Anatolian and Greek civilisations.
"Chamber of Immortality" will travel to London, Berlin and New York after being exhibited in Contemporary Istanbul on September 20. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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