Nigâr Hanım
1856 – 1918
Nigâr, the first woman Muslim poet, is like a poem herself. She sees the beauty on earth, yet ugliness that exists, that she witnessed becomes like a burden for her heart. That burden is not related to her comfort; it’s instead, the comfort of humanity.
She is a delicate flower who shines amid nature. Yet her garden, her home has become a desert, she still blooms without water, as her soul is flameless, always burns.
She wished to be buried among the honeysuckle, ‘hanimeli’ flowers, meaning the hands of a lady in Turkish. Her wish has perhaps come through in the canvas above.
Creation
Nigâr is multilingual, speaking French, German, Turkish, English, Farsi and Arabic. The character appeared through interpreting the author’s words in German and Turkish. Her poems shaped the embodiment of her voice and physicality. Her heart is ahead of her brain, she is emotional, and she expresses it. Her body and movements are delicate. She has high aesthetics, and ugliness makes her sad. Her intellect balances her emotions, yet she is complex within.
In my imagination, she experienced the bitter side of love to comprehend ‘love’ that is unconditional.
