Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I’m an artist. I was born in Ankara (Turkey) in 1982 and grew up in Istanbul. I studied Graphic Design in university and started making paintings in the early 2000’s while studying. I moved to London in 2007 to study art and avoid the mandatory military service duty all Turkish males have after they graduate from high school or university. It was a long and difficult process of immigration as Turkey is not a part of the EU and I’ve spent about 6 years paying taxes and fees to obtain different visas to keep a residency permit in the UK. Finally in 2014 I got my British citizenship. During this period I had a band with which I collaborated with the artist Ahmet Ogut to perform in spaces like the ICA, VanAbbe Museum etc. and also kept a pretty steady painting practice. I’ve been mostly making paintings since but I don’t consider myself strictly a painter as I’m also interested in many different mediums like sculpture, video and installations.

What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on?

Last year I had 3 solo shows in 3 months. Two in my hometown in Istanbul and one in London so I’m taking it slow this year but I do have a New York solo coming up towards the end of the year. I’m making new work for that.

Is there a specific process you go through when you first enter the studio?

Not really, I just want to get into it as quickly as possible. I get distracted very easily.

How do you see your work evolving in parallel to things that are going on around you right now?

I think most of my work is autobiographical in some way so it’s almost only about the things that are going on around me. I used to think I was failing to find my voice because I couldn’t stick to one style or medium and what I was making was constantly changing conceptually and aesthetically but now I think this search and progression is what my work is about.  

You show in many different places around the world. How do you think your work might operate in different contexts/environments?

The work interacts with every person in a different way. That’s what I’m mostly interested in, I believe great art needs that alternating interpretation from the viewer to complete it. Different locations and different people add to that.

Your work also varies greatly in many aspects. Do you consider yourself streamlining its meaning/motive, or does every work become its own entity?

If I’m making a painting show finding or creating the right source images is the hardest thing. It takes more time than making the paintings. Installations or sculpture based ideas are a little easier as they mostly come out during the brainstorming stages. But in both cases the work constantly changes and dictates it’s own outcome which makes the process interesting and fun for me.

Do you think your work thrives more situated around installation? How do you think about this?

It all depends on the concept. I love seeing my paintings with other artist’s installations or sculptures in group shows etc. but I also feel the need to have some kind of manipulation in relation to the space a lot of the time. This could be some text on the wall or a whole installation or something. It’s all about what’s needed for communicating the idea in the best way.

Does a show evolve from a certain train of thought, or is it more situated in perceiving the environment it will take place in? Do either of these things even happen, or does it work differently?

Most of the time I initially think of a title or a very general idea for starters and I let it evolve into whatever it will become but the location is always very important. I really like unconventional spaces. 

Can you talk about how you consider materiality?

We live in a time where global social security is at it’s lowest. Hyper-capitalist economies are in their late stage doomsday phase, warmongering for profit and leading the world to be transformed into a dystopian techno-nuclear wasteland. A big portion of the younger generation is in a grindset mentality hustling to build crypto empires off of meme coins while the rest world is going through its biggest immigration crisis with ongoing armed conflicts and major wars in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Considering all this, unfortunately  materiality is still inevitable and crucial in terms of staying alive, housing, producing work and generally enjoying life but looking at it from a very basic philosophical perspective one can say we as humanity have walked down a very wrong path.

How important is the written language in your work?

I like to create works that mimic certain aspects of our online lives where we’re constantly writing messages and reading bits and pieces of content so written language in the artwork is a way of building that connection. It’s also a great way to engage with the viewer and it’s also very important to me both aesthetically and conceptually.

Is there a particular show that comes to mind that impacted you enough to continuously think about it to this day?

I love Merlin Carpenter’s ‘Police’ from 2013. I think it’s one of the best contemporary painting shows of the 21st century.

Do you consider collaboration an important part of making?

Every time I collaborate with someone I feel like I’m getting rid of my artistic ego a little bit. I like letting that go. You need to embrace the other person or people to really genuinely collaborate. There’s always a fresh dose of inspiration injected into the process when you collaborate, especially with an artist who you love and it also takes the pressure off of making and thinking of every aspect of the show by yourself. 

What are you really excited about right now?

I’m making new paintings in my Istanbul studio since January and I’m really excited about that.

In regards to your making, what is something that you’ve always wanted to do and are working towards achieving it?

Making my own feature film. I am writing down some unconnected scenes and ideas but it hasn’t turned into a full script yet. 

Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your work?

I made an installation at this non-profit exhibition space called ‘ung-5’ at their public display window in an underpass at Ebertplatz in Cologne, Germany in 2019. There was a sleeping bag with a wig hanging out of it imitating a dystopian scene of someone sleeping inside of it with the vitrine covered with black vinyl wrap with a little hole cut on it so that people could peak into it. Someone passing by thought there was actually someone sleeping in the vitrine and they called the police. The people who run the space had to explain to the police that it was art and that there weren’t anyone actually sleeping there. 

 

Interview conducted and edited by Liam Owings