Good studying: The Hamam journal celebrates the artwork of bathing
Ekin Balcıoğlu grew up in Izmir, Turkey and was surrounded by hammam culture. However, she did not bother with the ritual of bathing together until she threw herself to the United States to study fine arts and visual critical studies.
"I didn't bathe in the community until I moved to New York and needed a way to warm up to survive the miserably cold winters," Balcıoğlu told CR. "I became a regular steam bath guest at the Russian-Turkish baths in the east village and it was in this bathhouse that I met some of the most interesting and inspiring people, many of whom have been lifelong friends of mine."
Hamam edition 1
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Issue 3
When Balcıoğlu moved from New York to San Francisco, she got a part-time job at Archimedes Banya to learn the healing arts of Platza – a Russian steam treatment performed with a bouquet of leaves in the sauna. Little did she know it was going to have such an impact that she decided to create her own indie magazine, Hamam.
“The experience inspired me to undertake a creative project to shed light on the subcultures that permeate the bathing community – much like people in New York do for bath house people,” says Balcıoğlu.
“When the ideas were flowing, my husband and co-founder Steve introduced me to WET Magazine – an avant-garde publication founded by Leonard Koren in the late 1970s. I thought a magazine would be the perfect medium to spread the art and culture of bathing, especially since most bathing spots don't allow electronics. They are a great place to read. Essentially, the Hamam's mission is to activate the universe for bathing together. "
The first issue of the quarterly magazine appeared in the middle of the pandemic last year and contained essays, artist projects, photo stories and interviews from contributors from around the world.
The team behind Hamam's stance of bringing every topic to life should be as free and open as possible, says Balcıoğlu. “We approach every side of the Hamam without a predetermined layout and without any design restrictions.
“Just like water in a jar, our visual identity adapts to the contours of a contributor's content. If we reinvent the look of the hammam, our readers never know what's on the next page, let alone the next issue, ”she adds.
The latest issue of the magazine explores the universal concept of water and includes everything from an in-depth look at Japanese sento culture and rituals to an article about showering underwater in a nuclear submarine.
As for the future of hammam, Balcıoğlu is open to republishing it as long as more can be said about bathing and its broader mission as a “magazine of letting go”.
“Sometimes I think about how we can extend the idea of the hammam – an object of letting go that you can hold in your hand – into immersive experiences. As you can imagine, it was difficult to take part in shared bathing during the pandemic and I hope that hamam brought this community a little closer together in a little way, ”says Balcıoğlu.
"Ultimately, my vision for the future is to redesign a public bathroom that eliminates the subjection of man and nature in order to bridge the divisions in society and to regenerate our community and biosphere."
The third edition of the Hamam is now available. hamammag.com