Tell us about your favourite hang out spot in London or elsewhere? This could be a bar/restaurant, a club, a cultural institution or anywhere you enjoy spending your time.
I grew up on the East Coast of Scotland and spent a lot of time looking out at the sea. When I was a baby in Turkey I grew up on the beach, my mum always said that I could swim before I could walk. I think stuff like that sticks with you somehow.
What’s your favourite London gallery (you decipher the criteria)? Maybe it has the best arts programme, or the most interesting community, or even just where the best parties happen!
Modern Art and Sprueth Magers rarely have a bad show on but there’s so many great galleries in London. Most of what I knew before moving here was from books so it’s a real privilege to see so much work in the flesh. There are too many to choose from really, which is a good problem to have.
Can you name your favourite undiscovered or emerging artist (the more obscure the better!). How did you discover them and what do you like about their work?
There’s this artist duo band that I love called Faliraki. They bring a lot to the art scene in Edinburgh. I’m their number one fan...
Can you share a bit about your artistic journey and how you arrived at your current style or medium?
I aim to surprise myself and take chances on things. My practice has always embodied experimentation, not just a means of developing ideas but as a motif of the work itself. I try to follow the invisible threads...
What themes or concepts drive your creative process and influence your work?
I guess existentialism is the main drive to do anything. I’m in a constant state of questioning, re-evaluating and discovering. I think in the root of all my work is a cosmological pondering and an intrigue towards the paradoxical. I’m trying to work out the big picture while also juggling with art history, questioning my position as both an artist and a person living in a complicated and evasive world.
Are there particular emotions or responses you hope to evoke in viewers of your art?
If I could get someone to burst into tears that would be great. But no not really, I like to think it’s all pretty open and people bring what they bring to it. I guess I’m putting out some level of allure, misdirection and hopefully it’s enough to make someone stop, have a moment, question or think something that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.
How do you approach the use of colour, texture, and form in your practice?
Colour is mostly intuitive. Often I’m trying to contradict or invert something else that I’ve made. I’m not interested in making the same thing twice so it has to have a freshness otherwise it doesn’t work.
Are there specific artists, movements, or cultural influences that inspire your work?
Nothing overly direct. Like most of our culture now it’s a mix of things, of different movements and histories. We take what we want and we leave the rest.
Can you discuss a particular piece featured in the exhibition and the story or concept behind it?
Thunder only happens when it’s raining: I often take titles from song lyrics. I was thinking a lot about dreams at the time and when this piece came together the title was immediately obvious to me. It felt like some kind of premonition.
What role does cross-disciplinarity play in your artistic practice, if any? And if not, in what ways does Palmer Gallery’s focus on cross-disciplinarity challenge your artistic practice?
Not to toot my own flute but I’ve always been good at putting my hands to things. I think working between mediums is just a natural thing for me. When I was a kid I was always drawing and playing with lego, working in 2D and 3D has been on my radar for some time. I think ideas and projects can take many forms, it’s useful to allow yourself some freedom when considering what the work is, where it ends and how best it can manifest.
Can you share a bit about your creative workspace and how it contributes to your process?
The studio is organised chaos. It’s the zone where things come together and I find that I’m just facilitating the conditions that allow the work to existence. Time changes in the studio, it requires a lot of patience and sometimes great haste. I’m sometimes making work out the door.
Are there rituals, routines or even objects that help inspire you or allow you to maintain your artistic momentum?
If I don’t go for a jog now and then my mind gets all cluttered. I need air and nature for clarity. Packets of noodles in the studio keep me alive as well.
Has the space and the industrial history of Palmer Gallery influenced the way you have presented or conceptualized your work? If so, how?
I wanted to pitch the Michelin Man ceramic sculpture that I made up against the history of the Palmer tyre. He sort of becomes the Palmer Man in a way.
