Çiğdem Yüksel

For centuries, wall tapestries have depicted iconic historical events. Images of naval power, battles or colonial victories, have shaped Dutch culture and heritage for generations. Çiğdem Yüksel’s four-panel tufted wall tapestry breaks with traditional representations in which the ‘victors’ are predominantly understood as the agents of history. In The Blossoming Garden, Yüksel instead immortalises the stories of people we would not ordinarily encounter in museum collections or archives. People who make indispensable contributions to their neighbourhood or city, day in, day out. 

These are the stories of Mohammed Bouyaouzan, Sultan Türkoğlu, Lemia Elhaddouti, Eda Pekmezci and Sema Büyükçelik, five residents of neighbourhood de Hoge Vucht in Breda, and pillars of their community. Sultan runs a grocery store where she lends a sympathetic ear and a helping hand; Mohammed volunteers tirelessly to champion local public services such as the library; Lemia gets people to exercise through Femme Vitaal; Eda and Sema organise activities such as group outings and evening information sessions through the women’s association of the Yeni Mosque. 

Yüksel’s work is based on photographs – ranging from personal photo albums to iPhone snapshots– combined with interviews. Everyday scenes such as selfies, family photographs or meaningful places from the participants’ lives are translated into drawings and framed by symbols such as trees (connection), flowers (community), doves (hope) and tortoises (perseverance). At the heart of the tapestries stands the blossoming garden, a universal symbol of abundance, plentitude and love, much like the social ecosystem in de Hoge Vucht: flourishing through mutual care and long-term commitment. The essence of what these five residents represent for their community.