My latest works are dedicated to Gaza. To those who were slaughtered. And to real people. To brave and honourable souls. To people with conscience and integrity.
The live broadcast of the genocide we are watching has made visible a holistic structure for us to weigh morality, culture, conscience, past, and future in all its dimensions. What is happening is realised as the fate of everyone. Gaza is the litmus test* where the proof of being human is sought. There are neither ‘but’ gaps nor ‘grey areas’. It is time to confess our comfortable ignorance. It is time to reach the sublimity of saying, “I did not know, but now I see”. It is time to shake off arrogance and cunning. Violence is now in the breath we take and the water we drink.
*Palestine is the litmus test of our time. If you support the genocide, you are as exposed as morally depraved. If you stay silent over the genocide, you are exposed as a coward.Owen Jones@owenjonesjourno
Son çalışmalarım Gazze’ye adanmıştır. Katledilenlere. Ve gerçek insanlara. Cesur ve onurlu canlara. Vicdan sahibi, dürüst insanlara.
İzlediğimiz canlı yayın soykırım, ahlakı, kültürü, vicdanı, geçmişi ve geleceği tüm boyutlarıyla tartmamız için bütüncül bir yapıyı görünür kıldı. Yaşananlar, herkesin kaderi olarak idrak edilmelidir. Gazze, insan olmanın kanıtının arandığı turnusol kağıdıdır*. Ne ‘ama’ boşlukları, ne de ‘gri alanlar’ vardır. Konforlu cehaletimizi itiraf etme zamanıdır. “Bilmiyordum, ama şimdi görüyorum” diyebilme yüceliğine ulaşma zamanıdır. Kibirden ve kurnazlıktan sıyrılma zamanıdır. Şiddet artık aldığımız nefeste, içtiğimiz suda.
*Filistin, zamanımızın turnusol kağıdıdır. Eğer soykırımı desteklerseniz, ahlaksız olduğunuz ortaya çıkar. Soykırım karşısında sessiz kalırsanız, korkak olduğunuz ortaya çıkar.Owen Jones@owenjonesjourno
Staff Mobility for Teaching at Escola d’Art i Superior de Ceramica de Manises. 08/07/ 2024 – 12/07/ 2024 Conference ‘Harmony, Play and Curiosity‘ 08/07/ 2024 11:00
imperfect_1, imperfect_2 Porcelain, 29 x 29 x 4 cm, 2024
While the ideal of perfection of the pursuer of the sublime, in which the existence of the whole and the prosperity of all is forgotten, is getting closer to the bluer and the whiter, the route of the civilized chronologies that were defined earlier, which lead to the irreversible end is still incomprehensible. It is anticipated, though. The shiny darkness that is heralded by the waves of the perfection flag blinds the eyes and absorbs the colors. The harmony watches the glorious representations of arrogant conquerors, who rebel against themselves.
What remained on the ancient roads after the last voyages of the blue and white caravans, are the fragments that were buried under the ground. As the saying goes, “One day, our buildings will collapse. And that will be the life itself”. (Translation: Esin AYKANAT AVCI)
Bütünün varlığının, herkesin hayrının unutulduğu yüceliklerin peşinde koşanın mükemmellik ülküsü daha maviye daha beyaza doğru ilerlerken, evvelce anlatılan uygar kronolojilerin rotasının dönüşümsüz sona seyri hâlâ anlaşılamıyor. Seziliyor. Mükemmellik sancağının dalgalanışının müjdelediği parıltılı karanlık, gözleri kör ediyor, renkleri soğuruyor. Uyum, kendine başkaldıran kibirli fatihlerin vitrinlerdeki şanlı temsillerini izliyor.
Mavi beyaz kervanların son seferlerinin ardından antik yollarda bize kalan, toprağa gömülü parçalar oldu. Hep söylendiği gibi “ Bir gün gelecek, binalarımız çökecek. Bu, hayatın ta kendisi olacak”
* Tüm renklerin solduğu tanıklık günlerimizin derin hüznüyle.With the deep sarrow of our witnessing days when all colours are fading (25.04.2024, Ankara)
17th International Exhibition of Small Form Porcelain in the Riga Porcelain Museum 20.10.2023.-10.12.2023
“Colour, no colour. Chromatic, achromatic. Primary colours, complementary colours, warm and cool tones and halftones. In visual arts, colour and colour blocking are fundamental means of expression. An illusion of tree-dimensionality and realistic impression is achieved by using a range of colour shades representing light and shadow. On the other hand, rhythmically arranged blocks of colour, either in symmetrical or asymmetrical composition, creates abstract expression. Colour impacts our senses.
With our chosen theme – “pure colour” – we invited porcelain artists to think about colour as the medium of meaning. Form, structural construction and silhouette are normally considered to be the most important aspects of sculptural artworks, but how does the meaning and reception of the object change, if colour becomes the dominant means of expression? Pure colour?
The works for the exhibition selected by a jury: Riga Porcelain Museum Director Iliana Veinberga, Riga Porcelain Museum Expositions and Exhibitions Curator Ieva Nagliņa, Riga Porcelain Museum Documents Systems Managers Ginta Eksne and Diāna Lauriņa; and artist Ieva Bertašiūtė Grosbaha.
Adile Feyza ÇAKIR ÖZGÜNDOĞDU “Dancing with Cobalt” 18.5 x 15 x 15 cm, Porcelain, 2023
Comments about work’s connection to the theme:
In nature, life and form are often associated with movement. A living, healthy, fertile form is hoped to sprout. But what if life begins before movement, in the nanoworld, when cells vibrate with energy and capillary lines and chemical bonds are organized? What if the center or the brain gives the command to move as soon as the productive chemical relationships are established?
We know paints and pigments as specially synthesized chemical substances. What we are not aware of is that, advanced chemical relationships and large amounts of “energy” are orchestrated to create color. Life and hope start at this point of “energy orchestration”.
Is the glorious effect of the coral under the sea and what attracts a bee to a flower the result of the pigment that we see with our human eyes and other creatures see with their own eyes? Is color “only color”? Or does color attract us because there is more to it? Color must be related to a reality of energy and wavelength beyond our material world. Thus, can we not see color as an indicator and representation of life? If we move from the formation of life in the micro world to the reality of the world we live in; it is as if the charm of dance is beyond the form, the movements, the formal arrangement for both the dancer and the audience. Does the energy of the dancer and the frequency of the audience not herald existence and life to us? At that very moment, we begin to feel the ‘color of dance’! Color is not “only color”: Color means life and hope. The color of “Dancing with Cobalt”, as a presentation of a show that demonstrates the energy of form, means the herald of life to me. (Translation: Esin AYKANAT AVCI)
Doğada canlılık ve biçimlenme, çoğunlukla hareket ile ilişkilendirilir. Canlı olan, sağlıklı olan, üreyebilir olan bir canlı formun filizlenmesi, umut edilen şeydir. Peki ya canlılık hareketten önce, nano dünyada hücrelerin enerjiyle titreşmesi, kılcal hatların düzenlenmesi, kimyasal bağların düzenlenmesiyle başlıyorsa? Üretken kimyasal ilişkilerin nihayet kurulması sonucunda merkez ya da beyin hareket komutunu veriyor ise?
Boyalar ve pigmentleri özel olarak sentezlenmiş kimyasal maddeler olarak biliriz. Bizim bilincinde olmadığımız şey ise, rengin oluşumu için ileri seviyede kimyasal ilişkilerin ve yüksek miktarda “enerji”nin düzenleniyor oluşudur. Canlılık ve umut bu “enerji düzenlenmesi” noktasında başlar.
Denizin altındaki mercandaki o ihtişamlı etki ve bir arıyı çiçeğe yönelten şey bizim insan gözüyle, diğer canlıların da kendi gözleriyle gördüğü pigmentin sonucu mudur? Renk “sadece renk” midir? Yoksa daha fazlası olduğu için mi renk bizi cezbeder? Renk bizim madde dünyamızın ötesinde bir enerji ve dalga boyu gerçekliği ile ilişkili olmalı. Öyleyse rengi canlılığın göstergesi ve temsili olarak göremez miyiz?
Mikro dünyadaki canlılık oluşumundan, yaşadığımız dünya gerçekliğine gelirsek…Dansın cazibesi, dans eden için de, izleyen için de formun, hareketlerin, biçimsel düzenlenişin ötesindedir sanki. Dans edenin sahip olduğu enerji, izleyenin dahil olduğu frekans bize hayatı ve canlılığı müjdelemez mi? İşte o zaman ‘dansın rengini’ hissetmeye başlarız! Renk “sadece renk” değildir: Renk yaşam ve umut demektir. “Kobalt ile Dans”taki renk, formun enerjisini sergileyen bir gösterinin temsili olarak, benim için yaşamın müjdecisi anlamına geliyor.
(15.08.2023, Samsun)
* With the deep sarrow of our witnessing days when all colours are fading. Tüm renklerin solduğu tanıklık günlerimizin derin hüznüyle.
The Journey of Ceramics – 2023 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale (Juried Exhibition)
After 12 days of three rounds of online fair and impartial evaluation conducted by 17 domestic and international expert jury, “The Journey of Ceramics – 2023 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale” Review Committee has selected 256 works to be included in the exhibition from a total of 1802 entries from around the world. These selected works span across five categories: Vessels, Sculpture, Painting, Installation, and Video: http://www.cjicb.com/News2023-08-29-en.html
How interesting it is that we wander the streets, stay in houses, and join caravans in the deserts while following a word. The word mahal, of Indian and Arabic origin, has a special meaning that is widely used in many languages. When I leave my neighborhood with the Turkish word mahalle and go east, I encounter the meaning of hall, resting place and abode in Iranian and Arabic languages. In India, the Taj Mahal gives a different meaning to this word with all its beauty and it means palace. In these lands, in the past, mahal was a name describing a woman or queen in the Mughal language, but today it is used to express love and something precious in the Pacific islands and becomes a name given to girls. When I head towards Europe from India, the old footprints lead me to houses and temples with heal, halle, hall. Kell covers spaces with its Indo-European origins and presents a layered landscape that transcends time and space, extending all the way to Ireland. One word, centuries, continents and cultures. With all our differences, how similar we are! In fact, we are all neighbors in the same mahalle. My work expresses these relationships, bonds and integrity. We are connected to each other by the same roots, by the same feelings, by the same needs: To love and be safe.
Bir kelimenin peşine düşüp iz sürerken dünyayı dolaşmamız, sokaklarda gezmemiz, evlerde konaklayıp, çöllerde kervanlara katılmamız ne kadar da ilginç. Hint ve Arapça kökenli “mahal” kelimesi pek çok dilde yaygın olarak kullanılan özel bir anlam taşır. Türkçedeki “mahalle” ile kendi mahallemden ayrılıp, doğuya doğru gittiğimde İran ve Arap dillerinde kökeni “Hall” olan ve dinlenilen, duraklanılan yer (‘stopping place, abode’) karşılıklarıyla karşılaşıyorum. Hindistan’da ise Taj Mahal bütün güzelliğiyle bu kelimeye ayrı bir anlam katıyor ve saray anlamına geliyor. Bu topraklarda, geçmişte Babür dilinde “mahal”, kadını ya da kraliçeyi niteleyen bir isim olurken, bugün Pasifik adalarında sevgiyi ve değerli olan bir şeyi ifade etmek için kullanılıyor ve kız çocuklarına verilen bir isim halini alıyor. Hindistan’dan Avrupa’ya doğru yöneldiğimde ise, eski ayak izleri beni “heal”, “halle”, “hall” ile evlerde ve tapınaklara ulaştırıyor. “Kel” Hint-Avrupa kökenleriyle mekanları sarıp sarmalıyor ve İrlanda’ya kadar sürecek, zamanları ve mekanları aşan katmanlı bir manzara sergiliyor. Bir kelime, yüzyıllar, kıtalar ve kültürler. Tüm farklılıklarımızla birlikte, ne kadar da benzeriz. Aslında hepimiz aynı “mahalle”de komşuyuz. Aynı köklerle, aynı duygularla, aynı ihtiyaçlarla birbirimize bağlıyız: Sevgi ve güven…
(12.08.2023, Samsun)
*Dedicated to all the lives slaughtered by lovelessness and still not safe. Sevgisizliğin katletmiş olduğu ve hâlen güvende olmayan tüm canlara ithaf edilmiştir (07.11.2023, Ankara)
Theme: “Achieving balance in life starts with the first step. Falling is the next step, and getting up is the next. A word of encouragement or a helping hand provides a sense of “I can do it”. Nature’s treatment is holistic. Only as long as we are together and constructive can we gather the destroyed again and again. We can stand up. The feeling of knowing that we can rebuild the ruins is the greatest consolation. Only together we can do it again”
Slipcasted porcelain. 70x155x55 mm. 2022. Photo: Gvido Kajons
Eskişehir continues to host art and artists. Dialogue +11, International Ceramic Academy Turkish Members Exhibition, organized by Prof. Dr. Zehra Çobanlı and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Aydoğdu Ağatekin, met with art lovers with the opening ceremony. Tepebaşı Mayor Ahmet Ataç, Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Ayşe Ünlüce, Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary Generals, municipal bureaucrats and many art lovers attended the opening ceremony.
Prof. Dr. Zehra Çobanlı, who made the opening speech, stated that she is one of the 11 artists in the academy and said, “We made this exhibition together with dear Elif. We are very happy to bring the exhibition together with Eskişehir people. The aim of this exhibition is to create an international art bridge.”
Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Ayşe Ünlüce said, “As the Metropolitan Municipality, we are very happy to host such a special exhibition. We are proud of our 11 ceramic artists who were accepted to the International Ceramic Academy. It is really not easy to become a member of this academy and it is a great achievement. I congratulate our artists representing our country and thank those who brought this beautiful exhibition to us.”
After the speeches, the protocol and the guests visited the exhibition together. The inaugurated Dialogue +11, International Ceramic Academy Turkish Members Exhibition can be visited until July 17, 2022 at Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality City Museums Complex in Odunpazarı.
Dialogue +11, International Ceramics Academy Turkish Members Exhibition
Founded by Henry J. Reynaud in 1952, the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC-International Academy of Ceramics) represents 74 countries from all continents and consists of 807 individual members and 77 collective members. The academy currently operates in Musée Ariana in Geneva, Switzerland. 11 artists from Turkey have been elected as members of the International Academy of Ceramics and are still active members.
Dialogue+11, International Ceramics Academy Turkish Members Exhibition features a selection of recent works by Bingül Başarır and Beril Anılanmert, two of the first members, as well as Zehra Çobanlı, Sıdıka Sibel Sevim, Mutlu Başkaya, Ömür Tokgöz, Hasan Şahbaz, Burcu Karabey, Elif Aydoğdu Ağatekin, Hasan Numan Suçağlar and Adile Feyza Özgündoğdu.
feyzaporcelain 