Ayse Balko

INDEPENDENT REVIEWS : “A captivating tale performed by the fabulous Ayse Balkos. The autobiographical story of tragedy and comedy, of womanhood and Turkish identity. Canine Teeth is an exploration into the lived experience of a woman bearing her teeth against a world that seeks to cage her. An absolute rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, powerful, captivating, moving. Coupled with background visuals of scenes from Istanbul streets. Ayse Balkos Canine Teeth is a show that bears all and refuses to be defeated. Definitely worth a visit if you're going to watch something this evening. Movies don't get much better than triumphs in reality. Jonny Cosmo, For the Enjoy The Show, Preston” “Event Review Ayse Balkos – Canine Teeth – The Ferret – Preston 8th May 2024, By Arthur Chappell A powerful, often deeply moving, and honest monologue, a coming of age voyage of discovery, a coming of age drama,  a celebration of a woman’s freedom, independence and spirit, often funny, som...

  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  ...

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...

Nice to be mentioned at The Star Sheffield as an Inspiring Installation Artist Talking Gigs, Photographer:  https://www.talkinggigs.co.uk/ngawang-lodup Tom Attah: Incredible photos from a very talented artists:  http://www.tah-uk.com/honey-bee-blues-club-sheffield/ The Confluence Project:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mt1RCuhNM Link:

Material Stories of Migration  is a collaborative arts project based in Sheffield in which migrants work creatively with local artists and researchers. We use a flexible ‘artslab’ format to spark explorations of the lived experiences of migrants from a wide range of backgrounds, opening up conversations and sharing stories of home, family, journeying and arrival.   We begin with broad themes, for example ‘map’, ‘journey’, ‘home’, ‘story’ and ‘memory’, and responses to these emerge collaboratively, often unexpected ways.Our aim is to combine the varied skills and enthusiasms of participants with the expertise.   A series of multimedia workshops that used poetry, painting, music and film to explore journeys to Sheffield and the relationships that asylum seekers and refugees have woven with the city. Participants and undergraduate students worked collaboratively with artists from Arts on the Run, a network that promotes cultural diversity in the arts. The ...

Efflux is an audio-video installation which reflects Sheffielder's relation with the city's buildings. The sound is recorded with home-made binaural micro-recorder and overlapped to create the overlapping of time and spaces. It is the silence and space which drops the tension and gives the sense of union with the buildings that has occupied and used for different purposes than original intentions. This is where Sheffield inherits its creativity, from the flow, the efflux...