Wondering what this site is about?

If you are interested in the manuscript arts, take a look to this link ‘Manuscript Arts’. Whether you are a student or an art lover, you will find this corner very informative.

Visit Gift Ideas to find out more about different forms of my artworks; ladies tops, postcards and posters are just some of them. You can even order the original size canvas prints.

To browse my gallery just click here and see the finest selection of my artworks.

Feel free to register to my site and be informed about the latest news such as new course terms, exhibitions, seminars…

Or just want to learn more about me? Click here

Your comments and questions are always welcome; please email, I will be happy to reply.

Thank you
Gulay Pelin

Turkish Art Land is owned by Australian Turkish Cultural Platform (ATCP) Inc., Victorian-based non-profit organisation. It was created to educate and showcase ‘Traditional Turkish Arts’ to the wider Australian public as well as to the world. Turkish Art Land Turkish will also be an online art gallery for Turkish artists to promote their artwork on a worldwide basis.

‘ATCP’s main mission is to build cultural bridges between Australia and Turkey and to increase knowledge on Turkish cultural heritage and its contributions to world.’ said the president of ATCP, Mrs Hilkat Ozgun.

I will continue to support this great initiative as the curator of the site.

For more information about Turkish Art Land click here; www.turkishartland.com.au

This is a non-profit organisation, run entirely by volunteers, and provide a forum for the opinions of Australian women.

Thank you to the entire team for this initiative and a special thank you to Nur Shkembi; Melbourne-based contemporary artist and Arts Officer at the Islamic Council of Victoria “Team Sultan”.

For more information about the magazine or next edition click here.

Read the September edition below:

Sultana’s Dream

In this issue Nur Shkembi introduces us to the world of Contemporary Turkish Miniature Art.

FEATURED ARTIST: Gulay Pelin

Turkish miniature artist, Gulay Pelin, is recognised as one of Australia’s most unique miniature artists. Through her contemporary interpretations, Pelin draws on the rich symbolism of the traditional miniature, the time-honoured techniques of paper marbling (ebru) and the illumination or gilding techniques of the Ottoman style ‘tezhip‘. By fusing traditional and contemporary styles of miniature art, the viewer is captivated and drawn into exploring further.  

The award-winning Sydney artist has a BA degree with 1st class Honors in Manuscript Arts from Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey. Traditional Turkish motifs and Ottoman Calligraphy inspire her use of rich colours and gold leaf; her contemporary miniatures are exhibited both locally and internationally. Recently Pelin was selected as the feature artist at the 2011 ‘International Miniature and Illumination Festival’ in Algeria.   

To find out more about Gulay Pelin’s work visit:  http://www.gulaypelin.com.au/

 Featured Images:

 “From Vav to Alif” 2009 (30 x 30cm)

Pelin describes this work as the story of our natural life cycle through the visual beauty of calligraphy and pattern. Vav is used here in the Sufi tradition of representing birth (through the human embryo) while the letter Alif signifies the seemingly rigid appearance of our physical death. These symbolic meanings are embedded within the beauty of traditional-style Arabic calligraphy; the viewer is invited to contemplate our mortal existence through this spiritually informed and visually engaging work.

“Sydney” 2008 (29 x 35cm)

Pelin migrated from Turkey to Sydney, Australia in 2002. Like most immigrants, she wanted to find a ‘place’ in her new homeland. Her sense of finally belonging is depicted in her detailed contemporary-styled miniature Sydney and we are able to enjoy a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the newly embraced, intimate space of the artist.

“Rise of the Simurgh” 2010 (28 x 34cm)

This elegant hand-marbled (ebru) work is cleverly layered with powerful imagery stemming from the artist’s Turkish heritage. An outline of the famous Sultan Ahmet (Blue Mosque) in Istanbul and a beautifully imposing tulip are entwined with an interpretation of the simrugh (also known as the “30 birds”, or an “ascending mystical eagle-like creature”). The simurgh is often referred to in mythological tales throughout the Middle East, Iran and Turkey.

Since her arrival in Australia, Pelin has been drawn to reading and learning about the Aboriginal Dream Time. Many Indigenous Australians refer to the time of  ‘Creation’ as ‘The Dreaming’. This miniature is meant as a tribute to the Aboriginal Dream Time as well as a celebration of the wonderment of storytelling and aspects of Pelin’s past life.

Nur Shkembi

Nur Shkembi is a Melbourne-based contemporary artist and Arts Officer at the Islamic Council of Victoria.

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Saturday and Sunday, 17 – 18 September 2011
10am to 5pm each day
357 Monbulk Road, Silvan

Many people don’t realise the tulip originated in Turkey. Turkey hosted the world’s first Tulip Festival more than 400 years ago, the love for the Tulip and the tradition is still strong in Victoria today.
The Tesselaar Tulip Festival’s Turkish Weekend is a showcase of Turkish culture. With more than 100 performers, it is a colourful and exciting weekend.
This year’s Festival will once again feature demonstrations of art, dance, music and gourmet food, where Victorians will get the opportunity to celebrate, learn, and savour Turkish hospitality, culture, heritage and cuisine.
Without leaving the comfort of Tesselaar Gardens, visitors will vividly experience Turkey.
When you arrive at Tesselaar Gardens, you will find thousands of visitors browsing through over many Festival booths and enjoying the festival’s events on daily basis. At the festival you will be able to:
• Enjoy the traditional and modern Turkish couture and textiles, memorable performances of Turkish folk dances and authentic Turkish music.
• Bring your cameras and capture photos or video of the mighty Mehter Military Marching Band. Reputed to be the oldest military march band in the word, this colourful spectacle will remain with you forever.
• Watch the artistic demonstrations of paper marbling, calligraphy, illuminations, ceramic art, and more;
• Shop for hand-made Iznik ceramics, Turkish rugs, throws, bags, decorative pillows, traditional jewellery, handicrafts, and more;
• Enjoy the aromas and tastes of rich Traditional Turkish cuisine including Gozleme, meat dishes, desserts, baklava, Turkish delight, apricots, hazelnuts, figs, and much more;
• Sip a cup of Turkish coffee
• Let your kids enjoy all sorts of activities
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to savour Turkish culture and cuisine, so mark your calendars today!
Supported by the Promotion Fund of the Turkish Prime Ministry, Victorian Multicultural Commission, Mr. Huss Mustafa, Commonwealth Bank – Local Business Banking and the Australian Multicultural Foundation.

Proudly presented by the Australian Turkish Cultural Platform (ATCP) in conjunction with the Tesselaar Family.

For more information, please visit
www.atcp.com.au
www.tulipfestival.com.au

Tlemcen, the capital city of Islamic culture, held the 4th of the International Miniature and Illumination Festival this year; and I am personally very excited to be there and feel their breathtaking cultural and historical atmosphere.

I arrived to the capital city of Algeria, Algiers, on 18th of June. The very next day, all participants travelled from Algiers to Tlemcen where the festival was in place.

Organization is started with the opening ceremony of the exhibition in the Imama Palace of Culture on June 20th. Best of the internationally recognized illumination and miniature artists from all around the world were exhibiting their most recent artworks in this exhibition.

The second day of the festival continued with couple of lectures given by Ms. Sereen Abd Erahmane Echoubaki from Jordan and Ms. Mavluda Yuldashev from Uzbekistan who both talked about the virtuous geometry in the Islamic Arts and Uzbekistan traditional art respectively.

In the third day of the festival, Iranian artists had a workshop about the Iranian style miniature form and explained its traditional and modern aspects. The Fattahi brothers, Ihsan and Mohcen, whose father is the founder of Fattahi School, gave an idea about the practices in this school, which is specialized in the drawing of birds and flowers in a modern form.

The following day, a classical form western miniature art samples presented by French artists Ms. Martin Esparcieux and Ms. Martin Damien in the Palace of Culture Immama and their works gave the festival a different dimension. After this, Pakistani artists Ms. Amna Hachmi and Mr. Hassan Kami continued to their workshops about Mogul impression in the traditional miniature art.

During this time we were very busy to participate into workshops and lectures, and share our experiences; however, we also had some spare time to walk around Tlemcen and have some shopping. We loved to visit mystical and historical places such as Sidi Boumediene, Great Mosque, Fezza cave, and others.

After one day break on Friday we continued the workshops with Turkish artists, Ms. Hatice Kubra Tavasli and Ms. Fatma Nur Tavasli, who both demonstrated Ottoman influence in the illumination art.

In the final day of the festival, a marbling workshop held by a Tunisian artist, and after that, a miniature workshop led by two Indian artists.

Overall, the festival provided a great international platform to exchange the ideas and experiences throughout various workshops and lectures; so it was very beneficial to the artists participated in with different backgrounds but also to the local artists to develop their skills.

As an official guest of Algeria, I would like to say a kind thank you for her Excellency, The Minister of Culture, Mrs. Khalida Toumi and as well as Mr. Moussa Kechkech, the Steward of the festival and also his enthusiastic team for their warm welcome and great hospitality during my stay.

Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, bordered by the Mediterranean on the North, the Wilaya of Naama on the South, the Willayas of Ain Timouchente and Sidi Belabes on the East, and the Kingdom of Morocco on the West. Founded by the Romans as Pomaria and established by the Zenet dynasty as the capital of their rule, the city today ranks among the major historical and tourist regions of Algeria.

The Wilaya of Tlemcen is made of 22 districts and 53 municipalities. Tlemcen city is one of Algeria’s major tourist destinations thanks to its various tourist attractions such as the caves of Fezza, Mansoura and Nedroma, Port Hanine, and several ancient mosques.

Tlemcen was founded by the Romans in the 4th century C.E and became a Roman colony with a catholic diocese before it was conquered by the Vandals and came later on under Islamic rule in 708 AD. The 11th century C.E saw the take-off of the city under the Islamic rule. Under the Almoravids dynasty, the city emerged as one of the most prominent commercial centers and a major port of the time, thanks to its proximity to the Mediterranean. The city was then made capital of the Kingdom of Tlemcen by King Abdulwadid Al Zenati (from the Zenata tribe) in 1282 and continued to be so till the 15th century E.C, when the Kingdom extended its control to the entire Atlas Mountains in Algeria, reaching till the borders of today’s Tunisia.

After the fall of Andalusia, Tlemcen played an important role in Islamic history as it received migrants from Cordoba, Granada and other cities of Andalusia. Historians estimate the number of migrants who flocked to the city by the end of the 15th century CE at hundreds of thousands.

Later on, the city was invaded by the Spanish who made it a vanguard position of their conquest of the Maghreb, after the collapse of the Muslim monarchies in Andalusia. As part of their campaign, the Spanish tried to evangelize and catholicize Tlemcen before they were repelled by the Ottomans who took control of the city in 1553. It was until 1671 that Tlemcen gained a relative independence from the Ottoman State. In 1844 the city fell under French colonialism, which lasted until the sixties of the 20th century, when Algeria gained independence, and the city became one of the major Algerian urban centers and a capital of a Wilaya with the same name.

It is home for a variety of unique Islamic monuments such as mosques, ancient schools and Zawyas, which were beacons of Islamic enlightenment and learning over ages. In those Zawyas, whose architecture combines the Arab Islamic style with a local Berber touch, students used to study Quranic sciences and religious subjects in general. Today’s Tlemcen is one of the Arab Maghreb’s metropolitan cities. Many explorers and historians visited it and devoted volumes to the description of its wonderful architecture, design and development. The city boasts many landmarks of the Islamic civilization, in addition to the rich archaeological treasures of the National Museum based in the city, which showcase its ages-long rich civilization.

The International Miniature and Illumination Festival has been started in Algiers since three years ago. However, 20ll is an extraordinary year in the history of the Algerian culture in particular, and the Islamic one in general. Tlemcen is the capital city of the Islamic culture this year and that is why they decided to host the festival in Tlemcen.

Festival started with the opening ceremony of the exhibition in the Imama Palace of Culture on June 20th. The very best of the international artists exhibited their most recent artworks in this exhibition.

This year 53 artists participated from 21 countries such as Turkey, India, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany…

The national participations are also important and they come from different provinces, especially the students from the fine arts regional schools.

The goals of this festival are several. It introduces foreign cultures to Algeria and takes advantage from the other experiences in this field. For this purpose, they asked some participating artists to run workshops to help their students to gain experience and expertise. This is also exacting for the international artists to explore Mohamed Racim school, which has laid the foundation of great revolution in miniature and illumination in Algeria.

The attention from the locals overall were impressive, 750 art lovers visited the exhibition in the first two days!!

“Fusing traditional and contemporary miniature art within its own uniqueness and intricacy offers a delightful experience that is too captivating for viewers to explore further at every look.”

Gulay has a BA degree with 1st place Honors in Manuscript Arts from 9 Eylul Uni, Turkey; uses many symbols and illumination in her artworks that can be classified as traditional and contemporary; both reflect a fine elaboration and inspiration from traditional Turkish motifs and Ottoman calligraphy where fearlessly used rich gouache colours and gold leaves are seen.

She is a regular competitor of prestigious art prizes throughout Australia and Turkey; creator of “Anatolian Dream” exhibition held with Sydney University in 2007; guest lecturer of “The Art of Islam” in Art Gallery of New South Wales, and exhibitor in “Out of Anatolia” to commemorate 40th year of Turkish migration to Australia.

She is also officially invited to the “International Miniature and Illumination Festival” in Algeria, 2011.

Gulay holds regular exhibitions in Australia and Turkey and her art is represented in private and corporate collections in both countries and internationally.

Major Exhibitions

2011 June, International Miniature and Illumination Festival, Algeria

2010 December, Lalezar, A Garden of Tulip, Sydney

2010 September, Turkish Tulip Festival, Melbourne

2010 July, Ordekli Cultural Centre Art Gallery, Bursa, Turkey

2009 April, Cintamani Art Group, Sydney

2009 February, Connections, Glen Eira Council Gallery, Melbourne

2007 October, Anatolian Dream, Nussinov Gallery, Sydney

2007 August, Changeable Art, NSCC Gallery, Sydney

2007 April, Out of Anatolian, Mura Clay Gallery, Sydney

You sent countless emails asking if canvas prints of my artworks are available, and I regrettably said ‘No.’ But this is now changed.

Original-artwork size, or even larger, canvas prints are now available for canvas print lovers. Canvas prints are the best option that you can still hang on your wall and enjoy the view with affordable price tag without spending considerable amount for the original artworks.

Sizes from 30x30cm, Orders are delivered as framed within a box, Delivery via Australian Post within 3-5 business days. Prices starting from $149.

For more information, Click here.