Un/Settling
drawing series . artistic project
This series of drawings was inspired by the rocky roads and the dry-colored steppes of Anatolia, the human-made structures and the contrast between them. There was a relationship with a movement, of people, through territories, and the establishment of a home. This work is not about politics or people. It’s all about un/settling.
While I was trying to build an atlas sheet, I could not help but think about the path I have been taking, and how to make a map of references. It led to many doubts, and hard decisions to make, leaving so much behind... I began questioning where I call home and how my work is affected as a migrant coming from a country called West according to its East and East according to its West. I have collected landscapes and structures, images of un/settling. And now, migrations of war, to which I can relate to — my family survived the Circassian genocide and found a new home in Türkiye — like many from Syria or Ukraine now — and then moved to Istanbul a few generations later. Growing up in Turkish culture, but finding all the movements done by my ancestors, perhaps I am adding some more miles to that migratory movement, making a home in Lisbon.
I used digital techniques for natural figures and manual techniques for human-made structures, take advantage of this duality in my choice of materials.
MFA Project / Technique: Digital printing on 200g hot press paper, gouache, and crayons / Dimensions: 22.7 × 12.6 cm (drawing), 25.4 × 20.3 cm (paper) / 2022
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Unveiling
drawing series . artistic project
It began with the rocky roads and the dry-colored steppes of Anatolia, the human-made structures and the contrast between them. Then came the migrations and the landscapes left behind — images of un/settling. Reflecting on these, I propose an exercise in depth and field of view, zooming in on parallel moments across land and water.
Focusing on the scale of each frame, getting closer, until a final revelation of detail, this project is a journey, into the sheltered atmosphere of a nomadic tent and aboard a floating boat at sea. A passage into the depths, unveiling details — down to the charcoal pattern or an underlying story.
