The Message
Deniz Ayhan
The Message is a clay ceramic sculpture inscribed with words from the Holy Quran. Responding to themes of faith, heritage, and devotion, the work explores how sacred text holds weight not just spiritually but physically in the material. I experiment with clay because it's humble, like the human hand trying to honour something infinite. The calligraphy is complex, deeply carved, then glazed and painted on top. Drawing on references from Hafiz Osman, Persian calligraphers, and the mosques I grew up visiting, this work seeks to highlight the unbroken line between 16th-century Istanbul and my studio table today.
From a personal perspective, The Message seeks to evoke Hafiz Osman's discipline not to copy him, but to sit in the same current of care. Merging old Ottoman script with modern ceramic practice, my work traces the dwindling gap between the ancestor and the descendant. It examines the relationship between text and touch, between words you recite and words you carve.
Reflections on my own family's Ottoman history sit inside every groove of this piece. People's faith is still practiced daily, worldwide. This sculpture is just my small attempt to hold that.
Deniz is currently completing a Foundation in Art & Design specialising in Creative Media Arts at the University of Westminster, Harrow. Based in Hong Kong but living in London. He is currently displaying his work at the London West Gallery in the university. Working primarily in clay sculpture, Deniz's practice showcases religion, devotion and history through the lens of Islamic and Ottoman calligraphy.
"The Message"
