Seçkin Pirim's first Italian exhibition at Triennale Milano features sarcophagi and Eye of Allah

Triennale Milano presents the first Italian exhibition of Turkish artist Seçkin Pirim (born 1977, Istanbul), titled after the butterfly effect metaphor that underpins his poetics. The free public show extends from the outdoor park into the ground floor, featuring polymaterial sculptures that reinterpret antiquity with contemporary materials and meanings. Central to Pirim's recent work is the 13th-century Persian poem Masnavi by Jalal al-Din Rumi, a foundational Sufi text emphasizing how weight and meaning arise from the union of small parts. This principle is embodied in works like Grey Columns, made from numerous Bristol board strips, and Vertical Touch, composed of 10,000 thin layers referencing Michelangelo's union of God and Adam. The forms of Grey Columns derive from the ancient Roman city of Aphrodisias in the Caria region of Turkey. An initial eye-shaped installation is inspired by the Turkish Evil Eye talisman, serving as a personal good luck charm and a 'window to what lies beyond.' A gray marble arch titled Gate presents a dichotomy between calm, flat lines and rough ripples, reflecting Pirim's ongoing tension between stillness and motion. The exhibition culminates in two large polyester sarcophagi, evoking funerary containers from Turkey and Egypt, each guarded at its four corners by turtles and snakes—the artist's 'personal protectors.' The show is curated by Emma Sedini.