Kurdish Mosaic Artist Turns Erbil Exhibition Into Charity
Kurdish mosaic artist Leyla Remezan has opened an exhibition of around 16 works in Erbil, pledging proceeds from every piece sold to patients and people in need.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - After months of carefully placing pieces of glass one by one, Kurdish mosaic artist Leyla Remezan has brought approximately 16 works together for an exhibition in Erbil, but selling them is not intended to benefit the artist herself.
Remezan, whose artistic brand is Lilo Barzani, told Kurdistan24 that she plans to donate the proceeds from every artwork sold at the exhibition to patients or other people in need.
"Every piece that I sell at this exhibition, God willing, the proceeds will be donated to a patient or someone in need," she said.
Remezan has worked in mosaic art for around four years. Her current exhibition contains approximately 16 pieces, each requiring an extensive amount of time and painstaking manual work.
The smaller works can take around four months to finish, while larger or more complicated pieces may require as long as a year.
Measured in working hours, some pieces take hundreds of hours, while one can require as many as 1,900 hours, she said.
"It is very difficult work," Remezan told Kurdistan24.
Mosaic is an art form created by arranging numerous small pieces, commonly known as tesserae, into larger images or patterns. Stone and glass have been used extensively in mosaic traditions, with glass allowing artists to introduce particularly vivid colors and reflective effects. Historic examples range from Roman stone-and-glass floors to later decorative glass mosaics.
Remezan's own technique has also evolved.
She said she initially worked with tiles commonly used in swimming pools before later moving to Tiffany glass, giving her another material with which to develop the color and detail of her pieces.
The amount of labor and the materials involved are reflected in the prices.
Remezan said her artworks currently start at $10,000, with prices rising depending on the individual piece.
"The prices are high because the work is difficult, extremely difficult, and these works are also expensive around the world," she said.
For Remezan, however, the exhibition brings together two purposes: presenting a demanding artistic practice that has occupied much of the past four years of her life, and using the value created through that work to assist others.
Each completed mosaic represents months of detailed craftsmanship. If sold, it will also become a contribution to someone facing illness or financial need.
