HEMHAL / Blended in Balance

 

LEYLA EMADI

 

17 January – 14 March 2026

 

Leyla Emadi’s sixth solo exhibition ‘‘HEMHAL’’ opens at MERKUR on Saturday, 17 January.

 

Leyla Emadi’s multi-layered, multi-lingual existence forms the conceptual ground of this exhibition. Rather than treating oppositions as conflicts to be suppressed, the artist approaches them as a field of richness that deepens meaning and nourishes production. This perspective becomes visible in the exhibition through the coexistence of the fluidity of Sufi thought and the rigid, geometric aesthetics of Kufic script within the same space.

 

Concrete Kufic inscriptions reveal language as something that both consoles and bears weight. Concrete does not merely render words legible; it transforms them into presences that descend into space and are physically felt by the body. Concepts such as time, surrender, inwardness, and the micro–macro relationship become condensed in matter through sharp corners and rigid surfaces. In contrast to this hardness stand the fluid, abstract alphabet sculptures informed by Sufi thought. This language, articulated through concrete letters, multiplies through light and shadow, allowing meaning to circulate within space rather than fixing it at a single point. Abstract forms turn language into something closer to breath or movement than to structure. Balance here is not a measured equality, but a rhythm sustained through motion.

 

The embroidered and woven works constitute the exhibition’s more internal and bodily layer. Each stitch binds the state of being hemhal—being attuned or blended—to time, patience, and labor. They establish, stitch by stitch, a mirroring between above and below, inside and outside, part and whole. Here, language becomes not merely an idea, but a surface that can be touched, carried, and inscribed into memory.

 

HEMHAL does not propose a space where oppositions are resolved. On the contrary, it reminds us of the necessity of accepting both ends as belonging to ourselves. It is neither possible to ignore one side nor to cling blindly to the other. Like a seesaw: when one end grows heavier, the other rises. Balance is only possible through this mutual state of existence. This exhibition invites viewers to consider balance not as a goal, but as the courage to live alongside oppositions.

 

Leyla Emadi (b. 1977, Ankara), an artist of Iranian origin, grew up during periods shaped by political and ideological upheavals in Turkey and Iran. She carries into her practice the shared historical ruptures of these two countries, along with the oscillations between identity and belonging. Her work centers on issues such as gender inequality, (in)justice, ideological structures, and collective trauma. Working across media including fabric, metal, concrete, and printmaking techniques, Emadi has recently focused on combining the weight of concrete with the oppressive power of language, producing works that question both individual and collective memory.

Emadi completed her Proficiency in Art degree at Yeditepe University with a thesis titled The Effects of Trauma on Character Structures and Its Reflections on Artists. In her practice, she also engages deeply with the relationship between psychoanalytic character structures and artistic expression.