“Musakhan,” in the bespoke typeface “Hamaset.”
Concept Overview
Vinyl letters on transparent colored vinyl, 184x334 cm.
"ON THE EASTERN COAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, EXPLOSIONS LIGHT UP THE NIGHT SKY AS THE MOTHER PREPARES A SUMAC-SPICED MUSAKHAN DISH WITH SWEET ONIONS, PINE NUTS, AND TABOON BREAD."
Details from the MUSAKHAN
Details from the MUSAKHAN
Details from the MUSAKHAN
Typography as Political Discourse
OPUS employs a bespoke typeface, HAMASET, developed in collaboration with a type designer on my invitation to visually echo the grandeur of opera while engaging in a critique of contemporary political rhetoric. Hamaset, derived from an Arabic loanword meaning enthusiasm, courage, and heroism, has been recontextualized in contemporary Turkish discourse by politicians to signify populism and demagogy. HAMASET represents contested spaces where typography serves as a battleground for ideological transformations. HAMASET is monumental, sharp, and prickly on the outside but soft and round on the inside to create dialectical tension. Additionally, it has only uppercase letters.
MUSAKHAN (Produced as part of my residency at Saha Studio in Istanbul, Turkiye, 2024.)
The passage MUSAKHAN;
"ON THE EASTERN COAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, EXPLOSIONS LIGHT UP THE NIGHT SKY AS THE MOTHER PREPARES A SUMAC-SPICED MUSAKHAN DISH WITH SWEET ONIONS, PINE NUTS, AND TABOON BREAD.
Please view the document here regarding the specimen design for the HAMASET typeface.
