Golden Phoenix is an installation of fifteen hand-painted porcelain plates that Sera Ilel has created as an ode to the Phoenix, a benevolent mythical bird with its roots in Persian mythology. Having changed names, features, and associated stories across cultures, the Phoenix at its core remains a symbol of seeking, self-exploration, mysticism, spiritual growth, and enlightenment.
 

Ilel’s Golden Phoenix depicts the majestic bird spread across fifteen individual pieces of porcelain. The Phoenix stands on a blossoming branch, its wings spread, flowing with the wind, atop a golden backdrop. llel’s vibrant brushstrokes breathe life into the ancient symbol of ultimate spiritual unity, and through her approach, brings it into the contemporary sphere. Channeling a frequent motif of traditional porcelain used across Turkey, Persia, and China, Ilel has used it to express the Sufi idea of unity, and transcendental oneness with the universe. While Ilel’s installation at first glance triggers the interpretation of “deconstruction”, in reality does the opposite. The construction of the Phoenix in fifteen plates conveys well the idea of a whole created from parts – all the while the parts are whole within themselves.
 

The search for meaning and enlightenment is a common yearning, part of human existence. Ilel’s work reminds us that each of us is part of a united whole, and that deconstruction of one’s sense of self is one of the primary steps towards what links us in totality, to each other and the universe.