Homeland

What is homeland to you?
Homeland is the most important person of my tribe. We cry with and for our lands. We feel joy and longing and sadness too when we dream of our lands. Our lands are sacred. It holds the soil and spirit of every ancestor before.

I started this collection in June of 2023, during my trip to southern Kurdistan, after 7 years of being away. Most of the materials from this collection were sourced during my trip there and hold very special meaning to me. For many of us, regardless of what the reasons may be for not being able to go back to our homelands, we continue to hold onto them, raise our voices when they need us, show others the beauty of our lands through art, music, food, words, jewelry, books, scents, clothing, you name it, because the region of our roots is so much more than the pain they are forced to endure.  With this collection I wanted to recreate traditional pieces of jewelry without taking away their essence. As a kid I always noticed the jewelry and accessories before anything else, my mom’s necklaces, the scarves around her neck, the special hats with beads and gems, the rings and earrings. They told a story of home, they spoke something powerful without words, they brought back images of ancestors before.

I made this collection with the inspiration of Kurdistan, the land of my ancestors, and I found myself 5 months into the start of it with a deep sadness and grief for Palestine. Homeland took me a long time to complete, some days I couldn’t stop my hands and some days I just stared at the wall in front of me thinking what is even of the point of this with so much loss happening in the world. All people deserve life and joy and freedom and dignity and safety, from Kurdistan to Palestine to Sudan to Iran to the Congo to Afghanistan to Syria to Haiti to Iraq to Armenia and Lebanon to Tigray and Hawai'i to West Papua to Yemen, to Rohingya and the Uyghurs, to EVERY CORNER of the world being robbed of their rights to exist on their lands. Our homelands are sacred.

I know our existence is the ultimate resistance and our presence and voices in all spaces has never felt so important. We cannot let anyone make us feel otherwise and can never ever let anything or anyone make us forget our roots and how special they are. I hope you all like this collection, it’s one of my favorites for many reasons, a tribute to home and a reminder of the beauty of where we come from. With love and gratitude, Sayran.