creative-project-kadriye-zorlu

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Project Statement

This project showcases Turkish motifs and patterns, highlighting the beauty and complexity of Turkish culture. The work and final installation is a celebration of cultural identity and aims to convey feelings of warmth and nostalgia for the audience.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Artist Statement My work reflects my Turkish cultural heritage. Through re-imagination of intricate patterns and vivid colours, I aim to build a deeper sense of cultural identity by celebrating and appreciating all aspects of my Turkish culture in collaboration with the audience.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Evaluation

After the module launch for Creative Project I took some time to reflect on my experience in third year so far – looking at my practice and my motivations for creating work. In doing so, I reassessed my feelings in relation to my cultural identity and my experience of cultural hybridity. The initial feelings towards my upbringing were tinged with sadness, I felt as though there was a void in my identity – formed due to not having full ownership of one culture or another. This is a common phenomenon of third-culture children, which was rigorously supported by academic journals and research papers I read. Upon reflection, I asked myself if those feelings were still true? I think that these feelings are actually a minimal part of my experience, however thinking critically about my experience for the first time really brought these feelings to the surface. Now, I have the capacity and security in my identity to celebrate all aspects of my culture and rebuild stronger connections to my heritage.

Moving forward from this realisation, I decided that this new perspective would be an interesting development of the work I made in trimester one. I chose to explore Route B – building on from a theoretical area of interest from Critical Practice. The critical theory I chose to examine was Postcolonialism. Building on the ideas that Homi K Bhabha laid out in his book The Location of Culture – where he explores notions of Cultural Hybridity and Mimicry.  

My research led me onto looking at the ways in which contemporary artists explore their Cultural identity through art – some key findings were that culturally diverse artists utilise cultural symbols; cultural practices and traditions; language and folklore to inform their practices. I was inspired by the works of Yinka Shonibare, Shirin Neshat and Ai Weiwei, to name a few. I found that these contemporary artists communicate their lived experiences of culture through their art making; making critical observations of social and political issues and of personal challenges.

Within my own Creative Project, I wanted to emulate this – moving forward with the notion of celebration, and of rebuilding my cultural identity. I explored shape and colour through screen-printing, initially creating abstract shapes on colourful backgrounds. I reimagined Turkish motifs from hand decorated ceramics and hand-made rugs that I was so fond of seeing as a child. My final installation is a representation of my memories as a child being in Turkey with my family, sitting around a table enjoying home cooked meals and company.

This project was a chance for me to explore my cultural identity in a new light – to feel grateful about my cultural hybridity and re-experience all of the love I have for my life and upbringing.

I believe that I could have developed my ideas further – I would have liked to produce more prints, perhaps onto different surfaces. I feel that I decided quite early on what my installation would look like and this meant that I was more focussed on a product than exploration, something that I will be more aware of as I enter fourth year. I am incredibly committed to this course, and to my personal artistic development which is why I emphasise critical reflection throughout my time. I believe this is a quality that will benefit my future work.

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[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

10 FINAL IMAGES

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Chat

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Prints

I pulled my first few prints on cartridge paper, using inks that I mixed myself with acrylic paints and printing medium.

I was disappointed with the outcome of the prints - they appeared to be textured and bubbly. As a result I decided to test print onto canvas. This result was much more successful, a surprise and my screen as not a textiles screen!

This opened up a new conversation for my prints. I decided I would create a soft sculpture print series. I reimagined this based on those fond social memories previously discussed.

The idea being that I would create a table set up using my Turkish motif prints.

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Motif I decided that my further developments would be based on the notion of 'the joy of culturally diversity'. This informed the printing stencils pictured above.

When I think about my mixed heritage, the primary feelings that arise are of gratitude and joy. I feel incredibly lucky to have had parents who celebrated their cultures, allowed me to see all aspects of them and to most importantly, choose my own identity within those spaces.

Most of my formative memories from growing up with a mixed-cultural background are of socialising with family and loved ones, often centred around food and celebrations. Tea. Lots of tea.

I would like to utilise these memories and visual markers of my culture to create a new print series.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

The Cut-Outs

I am drawn to the forms and shaped Matisse has created - they are lively and playful. I am drawn to the forms and shaped Matisse has created - they are lively and playful.

I feel a kinship with the cut-outs, the explorations of real-world observations translated into vibrants stills is something I would like to explore within my project.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Henri Matisse, The Cut-Outs

In the 1940's Matisee began producing works in a new Medium - he would cut out shapes from painted paper. This method was born of necessity as Matisse' health had detioriorated and he was unable to paint.

The cut-outs range from figures, botanicals and circus scenes and are a wonderful study of form and colour, reassessing a distinguished body of work from Matisse.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Development

I created a second print series - this time with a more considered approach to the shapes I was creating.

I employed a different strategy - Instead of making aesthetic decisions when cutting out the shapes, I was instead feeling the joy that my culture gives me. I was thinking about the food, the places, my family, the language etc and using the feelings that arose to dictate the shapes produces.

I think this methodology really worked for me.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Screenprints

This was an early development within my Creative Project.

I employed a Matisse-esque method of creating 'cut-outs', I did not plan the shapes I just let my hands and the scissors go where they wanted to.

I cut my Somerset paper to size, dividing my A1 sheet into 4 19cmx56cm sheets. I knew that I wanted the cut outs to exist on a solid background, so I played around with different shapes and sizes until I decided on the pink rectangle pictured above.

I did not think too much about the colours, instead i moved with the feeling of creating something playful and joyful.

[creative-project-kadriye-zorlu]

Statement of Intent

Within my Creative Project I will endeavor produce a substantial body of work relating to a Theoretical area of interest from the Critical Practice module (Route B). The work will be well-informed through rigorous academic research and underpinned by specific Theoretical understanding of my chosen subject area.

I will respond to my research through various methods of making, including (but not limited to) screenprinting, clay forming and slip casting to produce works which I will develop and evaluate throughout.

I aim to build upon the conceptual framework I set up in the previous modules: cultural hybridity and a cross-cultural upbringing.

My aims for this new project are: to find a clear narrative voice; to produce artworks which ask pertinent and relevant questions, delving deeper into this area of study; to contextualize and understand my work in relation to other contemporary artists and to expand my repertoire of making skills.