First, can we get to know you a little bit? Would you like to explain how did you give life to weaving, which traces back from Ancestors to the present day and the story that makes you the weaver of the dance?
I am originally from Izmir. With the guidance of my family, I started studying dance at a very early age.
Then, I continued for so many years. Later on, I studied at 9 Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Textile and Fashion Design and worked at the same faculty until 2010 after my graduation with the guidance of my family. In 2002, at the same department in Çukurova Univer- sity, I taught basic art education for the first students of the faculty, created a curriculum and returned to Izmir.
During my undergraduate studies, I was introduced to the weaving loom, and I started to weave alternative fabrics with alternative materials through intrinsic motiva- tors. Defining the gap has always been my main goal, but, believe me, I still do not know why. In a way, I’m interpreting and narrating my feelings through the gap.
During my resignation from my university, I worked with a tense mobbing; I weaved my professors with their legs appearing under the toilet door, as well as their un- derwears, pants, and skirts.
“You don’t really care what some- one else does for you, you know each other from what you really wear.” then I weaved myself turning against the wall while pouring out my soul through the work; ‘’Peeing Fırat’’. I opened an exhibition called “nuthouse” and left my letter of resignation and exhibition invitation on the table of the head of the department and left the school.
That year, Peeing Firat was selected for the contest of contemporary artists of Akbank. Right after the contest, I went to Korea and the auction in Sotheby’s in London, one of the world’s most important landmarks.
Then, I went to Christie’s auction, this is where my work was set up as the cover of the catalog. So this is how my adventure began…
Textile, Fashion, and Art. What do these three phenomena mean to you?
I am a weaver. I weave rugs and fabrics. This is the basic area in textile where I have defined myself. I am a craftsman because I do all my work without needing an assistant.
I am in cooperation with the sector. I’m designing the fabrics I’ve designed, in the form of clothes. I presented my 2020 men’s winter col- lection at New York Fashion Week. I’m a design- er at the same time.
I use threads instead of words to express myself. I’m an artist.
You give interviews and seminars about fabrics and how to recognize them. What would you like to say about it? What are your thoughts on Turkish fabrics?
First textile surfaces found in Anatolia. CATAL HOYUK is the current zero point of textile. These lands possess great wisdom. The ensuing com- munities and empires had their own languag- es. These things are instilled in us. That is why Anadolu is my main inspiration.
What I’m going to say about the Turkish fabric isn’t very pleasing for today. Because we’re a little too formal. The fabric is understood by touching it. The key is rather important than the pattern. The feeling it leaves in our body is important. Today, there are many products weaved with artificial fibers and genetically modified yarns.
I see these hybrid yarns as harmful to geneti- cally modified food. Cotton must be cotton and should give the skin a cotton feel. The same goes for wool-like or silk-like products too.
Every move we make to make life easier then gives us irreversible damages. I think the idea of consumption should be transformed.
Turkish silk fabrics are of great importance. Currently, this production has fallen consider- ably. Probably, the reason is urbanization. Trees are disappearing with unplanned cities and concretion. As mulberry trees in Bursa decrease, silkworms cannot find leaves to eat. Thus, the production of silk fiber also faces extinction.
While this is the situation in the technical part, the design dimension also worries mea little. The manufacturer, entering into an effort of modernization, leaves his essence for imitation and emulation; he is trying to make designs that he is clueless about, superficially scans, and lacks the experience. The result is a frustration … Anyone can tell the best only with their language. Anyone who sets out with someone else’s words is similar to a human without the gift of the gab.
Therefore, the craftsman should know his val- ue, while the designer should not ignore the principle of functionality. Our fabrics should search for more self-innovation in the field of use than in the design.
How is your sense of inspiration and performance during the preparation process? Would you like to share the intensity of emotion?
I love to share, listen, and understand. I’m traveling around Anatolia that inspires me. Every time I travel, I visit a university and meet with a lot of students. This is my basic feeling of enthusiasm. I love this job.
I’m not talking about anything I haven’t expe- rienced. I don’t even share what I read and not read. After actualizing what I read in my life and seeing the results, I’m expressing words starting with “In my life …” and all these words are just a journey for me. I don’t expect anyone to walk along the same path with me. Our experiences are different and I know the value of these differences.
I’m a fast-paced personality. I think very quickly, design and implement in a flick of an eye. Everything develops spontaneous- ly in my life, with pleasure and enthusiasm.
Do you have new projects that you aim to accomplish or dream about?
I just drift with the current. Exhibitions, performances, fashion shows … They may or may not exist anymore. Life has always had better plans compared to mines. I will continue to produce and share with sincerity.