IN A PERPETUAL QUEST TO PIN DOWN HER IDENTITY, THE VISUAL ARTIST AYSE BALKÖSE DEMONSTRATES THAT THE COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC NATURE OF SELF IS AN ABUNDANT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION. “ My intention is capturing the physical sound waves and emotional impact of music and transforming it into the form of three-dimensional patterns. ” Hailing from Turkey, Ayse is based in Sheffield and started painting as a way of addressing questions surrounding her identity. As such, playing around with the definitions of identity is one of the key elements of her artistic practice. As a self-taught multidisciplinary artist, Ayse’s work is an ever-changing attempt to understand herself in the context of the society we live in today. Her artistic repertoire consists of oil painting, live art performances (dance painting), photography, audio projects and visual installations. Ayse’s strength lies very much in her versatility. She has been part of numerous successful collaborations, including A Journey of UnBe
Hello, What an amazing journey… Thank you for making it happen. I am hoping you’ve all received a thank you letter form me. If not, I’d blame the Royal Mail and will send you another one. I’d like to thank every each of you for your belief in me, for your friendship and trust. It has given me a different type of responsibility and a sense of belonging. I would also like to thank the Royal Arts Prize for their generous reduction of the application fee and Eaton Trust for their generous funding towards the print costs of 2 of my photographs. I wouldn’t have made it without any of you. It was like a puzzle coming together with one piece at a time. Two of my photos printed on gold-washed aluminium, 2 of the large mixed media paintings went sent with frames made by me from pieces of woods found in skips. I paid just over half of the exhibition fee (Thanks to Royal Arts Prize) and booked myself a bus ticket for the opening day. I arrived in London in the late afternoon, just en