For this installation, Meryem Bayram takes inspiration from geometric principles in architec- ture and traditional methods of surveying land. She is particularly interested in the ‘druid cord’ from Ancient Babylon, a simple tool consisting of a flax fibre rope with twelve knots and thirteen regular intervals of equal length. Knowledge of the use of this tool was spread by various cultures over the centuries and was used in the construction of medieval cathedrals, among other applications.

Bayram plays with the correlations between sonic tones and geometry, mathematical relationships and light. The artist has placed a series of wooden circles in a hidden corridor that in the past was reserved for the monks of the former monastery. With the placement of these abstract objects, the artist visualises the dimensions of the corridor and challenges our perspective of space and the passing of time. In the daylight we experience the purity of the wooden circles, enhanced by a subtle light installation. At dusk, the light installation activates the geometric forms to the rhythm of the tertius, quartus and sextus: sonic tones that were used by ancient stonemasons as part of a means of measurement.

Installation with 12 birch-wooden circles

Thanks to Zuidervaart for creating the circles, Erki De Vries for advising and installing the lights.

The installation was produced with the support of Kunsthal Extra City and Platform 0090.

For 'Periphery', Kunsthal Extra City is commissioning six artistic projects for its new location in the former Dominican Monastery. Artists Geert Goiris, Imge Özbilge, Maëlle Dufour, Mekhitar Garabedian, Meryem Bayram and artist duo CMMC will enter into dialogue with the symbolically charged architectural space and each install a semi-permanent work in the periphery of the church and chapel. They will hide themselves away in aisles, forgotten back rooms and hidden interstitial spaces where their work can blossom in complete seclusion.

The selected artists have diverse practices, from performance to photography, installation art to animation. In collaboration with them, the Kunsthal will take its first step in questioning, activating and investigating its new location. Members of the public are invited to view the works starting from the reopening of Kunsthal Extra City in the spring of 2021 – the exact date has yet to be announced. Over the coming weeks, HART magazine will document the artists’ working process.