# masada..

> Installation (2020) by Ece Eldek: a three-legged, one-sided table with a soldier-shaped salt shaker and a satin pillow, on the fake diplomacy of power.

- URL: https://eceeldek.com/masada/
- Published: 2021-03-22
- Updated: 2023-08-14
- Author: Ece Eldek

![Installation masada... / on the table: a one-sided wooden table extending into the room](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/masada2_k-1.jpg)

installation, 2020

![Wooden table with a satin pillow hanging from its far end in masada...](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/masada6_k-2-1024x942.jpg)

![Soldier-shaped salt shakers beside a heap of salt on the table in masada...](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/masada5_k-2-902x1024.jpg)

![Top view of the narrow table with salt shakers and salt in masada... / on the table](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/masada3_k-2-761x1024.jpg)

In the installation entitled “masada… / on the table…”, the table has 3 legs and it has limbs extending forever. The table is one-sided and the other side is extended to infinity; this points to the uncanniness of the decisions taken by the power holders in an effort to diplomacy.

The soldier-shaped salt shaker on the table deals with the roles and identities in daily life. Salt and pepper shakers have a certain role on the table. The salt and pepper shaker is obliged to flavor the dishes. While the military identity has an important role for the country and its citizens, it serves as a pawn for this one-sided diplomacy table. This is a two-faced reality. In daily life, the soldier is shown as a hero, on the uncanny table the soldier is a pawn. The soldier’s feelings about his/her life, family, past and future are ignored. We never see the reality that the soldier is a pawn. This reality is hidden by war lovers in an effort to fake diplomacy.

The satin pillow hanging at the other end of the table symbolizes the luxurious and comfortable life of those who make decisions on this uncanny table. A restful sleep after a gamble at risking the lives of others is another uncanniness of this fake diplomacy table. Of course roles and tasks will dissipate in modern life. Politicians’ duty is to establish a solid diplomacy table and solve problems without fighting. This is not the case in practice. Without compromising their comfortable lives, they set up a fake table and disregard the lives of others, see them as numbers and define them as pawns.

The salt and pepper shakers and the pillow are white and shiny and have similar textures; with the three legs of the table, the audience is pulled into an uncanny space. Eldek prepared the booklet of her art work entitled “[mânâ](https://eceeldek.com/?p=386)“.

![Three-legged table with a soldier salt shaker and a satin pillow, installation masada... / on the table](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/masada2_k-1024x768.jpg)

The booklet “mânâ” was written in the same process as the installation entitled “masada… / on the table…” and exhibited

![Small booklet titled MANA leaning against the wall in the corner of the room](https://eceeldek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_9228-1-1024x892.jpg)