Ayzit Bostan is exhibiting her work as part of Manifesta 16 Ruhr at the Thomaskirche in Gelsenkirchen. Ayzit Bostan, an artist, designer and professor at the Kassel Art Academy, is presenting her work ‘Nazar Boncuk Tuch’ as part of Manifesta at the Thomaskirche – Hava Güleç Living Room in Gelsenkirchen. Gürsoy Doğtaş curated, amongst other venues, the Thomaskirche – Hava Güleç Living Room. The exhibition is part of Manifesta 16 Ruhr and runs from 21 June to 4 October 2026.
Ayzit Bostan’s silk scarf features the Nazar Boncuk motif, a symbol whose meaning stems from many interwoven stories. It has no single origin, but rather brings together millennia-old visual traditions of the protective eye and the still widespread notion of the ‘evil eye’ – the belief that visibility, envy and vulnerability can exert a real social force. The form of the motif is also significant: the concentric blue and white circles allude to the traditional craft of glassblowing, which was widespread in Western Anatolia before industrialisation. Nazar Boncuğu is at once a protective symbol, an everyday object and a design motif found throughout the world. It combines religious, cultural and commercial layers of meaning. This complexity is also reflected in Bostan’s working method, which shifts motifs, materials and contexts between the realms of fashion, objects and space. Her visual language is precise, minimalist and sensual; familiar symbols are not used illustratively, but are reinterpreted in new combinations. On the silk scarf, the Nazar Boncuk transforms from an amulet into a textile and from a protective symbol into an image-bearing surface – thus demonstrating how a familiar motif can take on a new poetic and social dimension through material, context and design. A small edition of the work, printed on silk, is available on the artist’s website.
About Manifesta
Manifesta is the European Nomadic Biennale, which takes place every two years at a different location in Europe. Founded in the early 1990s and currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, Manifesta explores the relationship between culture and civil society through contemporary art, architecture, urban research and collaboration with communities. Each edition responds to the social, political and environmental realities of its host city or region and develops interdisciplinary programmes that promote dialogue, social engagement and sustainable impact within local communities.
Further information on Ayzit Bostan’s participation:
staging.manifesta16.org