“Glare” {27/07/12}
pastel on paper
128x91cm
I began this piece with my cultural upbringing and how I could visually illustrate this through a child’s perception. In my youth, I was literally thrust with the motif of the Turkish evil eye or “Nazar”, the superstitious symbol that is meant to ward off the negative energy that high praise and envious looks may give. It was engraved into my cultural identity and way of thinking and when something bad happens “it must have been the evil eye”, “Aman Nazar Degmesin” being a Turkish warning against the evil eye. The motif is alluring, yet incomprehensible. To kids it has always been a repetitive symbol used in jewelry, gifted by elders: a motif without a meaning, a pretty eye to stare back at.
A self-portrait: an innocent looking girl, oblivious of the exhibition of her own nightmarish understanding of the evil-eye, and oblivious that her personal background is being so openly unmasked in front of the viewer’s eyes. Her semi “doppelganger” duals haunt and distort the positive energy of the “unseeing yet smiling” girl. Inspired by Giacometti’s spatial and face drawings, I used conté, chalk pastels and charcoal, creating a festival of repeated lines and vibrant color, with the intention of trapping the viewer’s looks, encouraging envious stares at the girl’s youth and defenseless joy accompanied by the unsettling atmosphere of the figures of her own imagination.
This piece won an art competition "WHO ARE YOU 2?" hosted by the Arts University Bournemouth, winning the chance to be on 6 JCDecaux billboards all around the most crowded, metropolitan spots of London and Bristol.
