Neurons, atoms, embryos, orbiting spirals and a stylized vulva are not among the motifs one typically associates with the tradition of Turkish kilims. Belkis Balpinar, a former museum curator and researcher of Turkish carpets and kilims, is trying to change that.

Standing at the entry of the Anna Laudel Contemporary Art Gallery, housed in a narrow, five-story building with high ceilings and tall windows, the artist glances at her kilims on the white walls.

“I want to remain modest, but I am happy with this exhibition,” she chuckles. “I have discovered new depths in my work during this exhibition, as we played with light and space.”

The artist, dressed in her signature striped blouse and thick-rimmed glasses, considers the Istanbul exhibition, playfully titled “Dokuma-ma” (Un-weave), her retrospective. The 30-odd pieces indeed illustrate the different stages of her work and her insatiable curiosity about science, including a preoccupation with the solar system and quantum physics, ecology and neuroscience. Her obsession with form and light has led her to leave part of the kilims unwoven, with wool sticking out or simply gathered in a bunch.