BIO

I was born in Ankara as the second daughter to a loving family. I had a lucky childhood for I was given unconditional love and support and my parents and sister always stimulated and encouraged my intellectual curiosity.

I had the privilege to enjoy studies in diverse areas thanks to this curiosity and support. I studied nuclear engineering, fine arts, art history, and graphic design. Moreover I am an amateur violinist who every now and then performs with local orchestras and ensembles. During my studies and professional life, I had a chance to experience life in Turkey, USA, Belgium and the Netherlands.

I create paintings and illustrations. Although traditional media have always been preferred tools of the trade, I enjoy digital media just as much and create illustrations with Adobe Software. Digital media allows me to combine my technical side with my artistic side and I enjoy it immensely.

Statement

My work in the past 20 years has varied not only in terms of themes and media but also in terms of target audience and messages. Despite these diversities, each and every piece has been linked to one another, creating an ongoing feedback mechanism. These interactions have been essential for the catharsis that initiate and last through my entire creative process.

While learning to make children's book illustrations, I faced several new concepts such as visual literacy and its development through the ages of a child. I applied what I have learned to my painting; creating several transparent layers on top of each other and linking compositional and design elements scattered through these layers to one another, attempting a conversation to engage the audience.

Another big influence in my work is the "drive" and "quality" works of naïve artists. Although they are both perceptual experiences, they are universal and potentially accessible to everyone. I do believe an intellectual construction and reconstruction of these to be possible even if only through analogy and mimesis.

current projects

My latest and still ongoing project, "Magic Mountain" is made up of drawings and paintings, where I try to implement these concepts as a whole. Figurative themes vary, most of them are images from my past, and my relationship with my Turkish and the vague, distant and idyllic Georgian heritages.

Komitas is a project that I started several years ago; it stemmed from my curiosity and interest in the forgotten/broken artists of the past. In this illustrated novel I attempt to dive deeper into the life of this extraordinary musicologist while wrestling with my personal reconciliation with the Armenian Genocide. I hope Komitas to be the first of several novels about the artists I have mentioned.