CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
THE FIRST MEETING – THE DREAM
Dreams are defined differently by researchers in various fields. Since I am mostly influenced by the studies of C. G. Jung, I am expanding my perspective within the same line. Dreams carry elements of the spiritual language and are like windows that connect us to the deepest parts of our being. They emerge from the forces of the unconscious, seeking to connect within our consciousness, thus bringing us to an ever-increasing level of self-awareness. Dreams can cover reality with various layers but also reveal the layers that exist beyond the physical appearance. For me, the dream is not just a window that leads me towards self-awareness, but also a reservoir containing the origins of humanity, collective heritage, tradition, culture, archetypes, trauma, fantasies, and desires—all that has been, is, and will be coming. The works related to dreams were not conceived as they are today. While in 2014 I created them based on inner impulses, today I bring them in a different form, aiming to show the importance of analysis and awareness.
ENDEAVOUR – PART OF M.F.A. STUDIES IN DUNDEE, SCOTLAND
Endeavour is the uninterrupted process of the artist-human’s struggle, placing personal perspectives in front of and amid others, aiming to evoke a common process. The effort is an individual study in the Master’s Program – Art, Society and Publics, during 2016-2017. The research is influenced by psychoanalysis, philosophy, artistic practice, and the role of art in society. Initially, I proposed the artistic research as “Inner Travel” and later it concluded with the title “Endeavour”. The final presentation of the research was conducted as an act where for 10 days I built a studio intending for visitors to observe the creative process and be prompted into dialogue and self-thinking. This final presentation of my thesis passed through three directions: the creative human, the process, and the public. I am presenting some of my works and two books as unfinished artistic objects intentionally left with mistakes and technical weaknesses of creation.
IDENTITY
There is not a coincidence for me that, a few months after finishing my studies in Dundee, I was asked to participate in an exhibition titled “Identity”. This exhibition took place in Edinburgh in August 2018 and went through the phases of an artist residency where artists met and developed discussions about the theme. We were all from different cultures with different experiences and histories. I created a video art piece inspired by my previous and fresh research at the time. In the video, I appear with elements of nature in the background, within the symbol of the rhombus (two triangles in opposite directions), and surrounded by masks of different cultures. For me, those masks stand as images of the archetypes of humanity’s ancestors and civilizations. My self-portrait, which I recorded, was inspired by Paul Klee’s book “The Thinking Eye.” Here, I try to show the method of my practice where I am the observer, the object and subject. This video is projected onto 24 sheets of black copy paper, on which 8 masks and 4 symbols are sketched.
FORMATION – ANOTHER STOP
I see Formation like words that take form according to functional needs of a language. The series of recent works follows the work developed around the concept of the “Collective Unknown” in 2022. Formation is the continuous development of the same thing, which appears with new elements and a new artistic language. Today, I can say that Formation started even earlier, when revised the works that are part of the dream series. Driven by new knowledge, in the years 2020-2022, I went through the phase of concept and idea. These caused the dismantling of some technical elements I had used until then, creating drawings that manifest shadows, marks, and traces by means of the human figure. I expanded my artistic observation to other aspects, in understanding the role society plays in shaping the inner of the Self. Formation, also relates to the continuous process of artistic research, which activates the mechanism of processing abstract elements (the trace) that move within the sphere of psychic energy. These parts, which I call remains or remnants, are closely linked to the information that remains in the human unconscious. Within the Self, everything intertwines with personal diffusion, taking mental or imaginary forms, and being clothed with different nuances of emotion and sensation from type to type (related to the experience). Over time, in human memory, many external inputs lose their details, leaving traces that encapsulate the essence of emotion, dream, illusion, sensation, form, memory, and impression within a single visual manifestation. The works of 2023 have been developed around the search for a figurative form that I can be given to things that exist, move, develop, and remain within me. Meanwhile, today I place myself before my work and the public, observing the psychological and spiritual elements that perhaps come to life within this dialogue of line and shadow, of shape and colours, as well as within the composition and movement of people throughout the exhibition.
Exhibition Statement
PËRBRENDA (INWARD)
DREAM, ENDEAVOUR, IDENTITY, FORMATION
The exhibition is a crucial phase in the creative process. The works and how they are composed within the physical space reflect everything observed inside and outside the creator’s self. Meanwhile, the gallery serves as a laboratory for transforming individual content into collective connections. These works are also part of the same quest, which began unconsciously in 2014, constantly pushing me towards exploring the inner self and its relationship with the outside world. It took time to realise that this journey is also about self-discovery and dialogue with the soul. “INWARD” means directed within your being, where nothing is physical, and everything you know is confronted with the unconscious. In this invisible, non-physical realm, a variety of forces emerge and move, guiding and influencing your essence within daily life. Thus, this exhibition is conceived in such a way that not only the viewer but also I can observe the flow of the inner, turning my work into a mental space for discovery and reflection. While I was a student, my creativity often involved working intuitively and less mentally. Unknowingly, this approach pushed me towards psychoanalysis and art as well, which later enabled the intertwining of thinking with action, theory with practice. These are phases of the creative process where the content of the inner manifests in figurative form and where the essence of the Self requires continuous attention. This is a long process that goes through cycles of light and darkness, just as the earth goes through cycles of the sun and moon. Perhaps this process also holds within its layers the practice of individuation, which seems to direct me towards rediscovering the lost connection of the dialogue with the soul. The displayed artworks in this exhibition depict the four distinct phases of my personal journey. All of them have a common origin, which is also the inspiration behind the exhibition’s title.
