Persephone’s Pomegranate Garden (Installation) ---2024

By using the mother-daughter separation in the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter, I explore my own experience of separation from my mother and my self-discovery of my own identity. The pomegranate, intertwined with women's bodies, mythologies, and religions across Europe, Persia, and Asia, holds deep cultural significance in Buddhist, Islamic, Judaic, and Christian traditions. It plays a pivotal role in the story of Demeter and Persephone.

Demeter, a Neolithic goddess symbolizing life and nature, is considered the Great Mother by Erich Neumann, reflecting a universal maternal archetype. Persephone's consumption of pomegranate seeds, tricked by Hades, binds her to the underworld for half her life. This act marks her separation from her mother and her journey through the underworld. Demeter's grief over Persephone halts growth, causing autumn and winter in place of summer and spring. Persephone's resilience and acceptance of her dual life bring a balance of light and darkness, life and death, restoring the cycle of seasons.

In this installation project, inspired by the myth of Demeter and Persephone, I use light-sensitive material on fabric and expose the texture of stones and pomegranate cells, combining photography and textile techniques to explore the topic through poetic metaphor, visual arts, and personal narrative. Using the metaphor of Persephone and Demeter, I delve into narrative themes of separation, duality, self-identity, and transformation. By employing the symbolic and cultural significance of the pomegranate in this mythology, I examine women's studies and the interplay between personal and collective experiences.


Textile Installation - Linen, Liquid light emulsion, leaves, pomegranate seeds -171.5cm-211cm, 2024