Cihad Caner

Parroting the Parrot 

This project is about reconstructing history and the reliability of our sources. Two woven tapestries refer to the life of Cem Sultan, an Ottoman prince who lived in exile in Europe with his parrot from 1482 to 1495. A connection is made with the famous tapestry series ‘La dame à la licorne’, which 19th-century historians suggested that the prince could have commissioned. The parrot acts as the narrator in the designs: do we imitate each other like a parrot when it comes to historical narratives?

Artist Cihad Caner created his designs in Photoshop and used AI for some parts of the drawing. The image was reduced to a palette of around 100 colours and woven with 12 wefts of linen, merino wool, acrylic and Elirex. A contour line was added around the figures to ensure they are clearly distinguishable. The works will be shown in 2025 in the 1646 art gallery in The Hague.

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Photos by Cihad Caner