Evil Eye Labyrinths

Evil Eye Labyrinths is an ongoing project I began during a fellowshing at the Victoria and Albert Museum, exploring the intersection of ancient textiles, geometric designs, colonial extraction practices, and cultural beliefs surrounding the evil eye. The series consists of looping videos, each depicting one ancient Egyptian roundel ––a circular textile piece originally belonging to a tunic worn by or burried with an ancient Egyptian. Currently kept in the collections of art and design museums, these textiles were excavated from Byzantine cemeteries in Egypt during the 19th century, satisfying and fueling at the same time the demand of Western museums.

These roundels showcase intricate geometric patterns and ornamental details, which were believed to have an effect on the onlooker’s eyes. Accentuating these patterns and animating them are acts of activating them and demonstrating how they were imagined as protective emblems part shielding the wearer in their life and death. This project seeks to make visible the magical power of these patterns and their spiritual original purposes despite their entrapment inside museums as beautiful objects.