The traditional prayer rug receiving a combination treatment of modern technology and contemporary Islamic art resulted in El Sajjadah, a truly creative product in the realm of spirituality.
El referring to the electro luminescent patterns created, and Sajjadah, which means ‘prayer mat,’ is the outcome of a thesis project by Soner Ozenc, a Turkish, UK-based industrial designer with a mechanical engineering background.
Operating on rechargeable batteries and mains power, the mat lights up when placed in the direction of Makkah, a unifying path of prostration for millions of the Islamic faith around the world.
This has been achieved by an inbuilt digital compass that records the current place and position through manual input by the user. It functions as a very practical and useful product for frequent travelers, which helps locate the right prayer direction.
“I was looking at ways in which we can combine tradition with modern materials and technology,” says Ozenc.
“My starting point was ‘flying carpets.’ After an intensive research in that area — fairy tales and all — I came to a point where I needed to add a function to this concept. Parallel to this, at a talk I attended, I was introduced to a technology called EL — Electro Luminescent Phosphor printing. I decided to use EL to make the patterns on my flying carpet to glow and then came the idea of a prayer mat.”
The patterns on the mat that Ozenc has created are modern interpretations of the traditional rug designs: Snake-like motifs border a rectangle, with a mosque (likened to the Kaaba) at the heart of it. The regular mihrab arches below make the mosque pattern whose architecture has been inspired by the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Hand and foot patterns were added to indicate their placement during prayer.
Apart from offering a practical functionality, it doubles as a unique piece of art collectible that can be hung as an illuminating night wall light.
El Sajjadah has been exhibited already in UK, US, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Kuwait, Japan and South Korea. While early prototypes of the mat were purchased by many high-standing galleries around the world, it was recently also acquired by MoMA (Museum of Modern Arts, New York), that added the prayer mat to their permanent collection after having traveled in their “Talk to me: Design and Communication Between People and Objects” exhibition.
The El Sajjadah prayer mats are in the pipeline for commercial production if the project receives a target crowd- funding of $100,000 by Aug. 14, 2012 on Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects.
“What we ask our supporters is to pledge an amount they are comfortable with (in return for a pre-order of El Sajjadah). In that way, they will be supporting a project that they love and be part of an exciting journey,” shares Ozenc.
The prayer mat can be available by pledging a minimum of $500 toward the project. It is available for order via the page (http://kck.st/MExERL).
For more information, please visit:
www.sonerozenc.com
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Email: life.style@arabnews.com
