Ayse Balko

An hour and twenty minutes spoken word with music performance and audio book / album, Come To Tower is  A goodbye letter and a fresh new journey.    Ayse has a unique poetic style through her combined accents and bilingual thought process and your ears recognize the sound of something that’s remarkably different, and entirely inviting, daring, exciting, and artistic in all the right ways that stand out.  Brilliantly performed in spoken-word, everything from the accent in the vocals to the slick & smooth sound of the music that comes along with it. It is interesting & enticing, and with its clever lyricism & inspiring. Ayse Balkos's first poetry book, Come To Tower, is the poetry collection of a fresh voice of a renegade woman, angry, hopeful, strong, confused, clear and vulnerable. The poems are accompanied by Ash Gray’s beautiful tones of Hummingbird Gibson acoustic guitar, dazzlingly honest, unpretentious and real journey of a soul. Her voice is elegant...

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...

                                    GALLERY

T relex Amazon Residency Reflections, I could write two posts to describe the amazing space that Trelex Amazon and Rainforest Expeditions provided for us, one for Refugio and one for TRC (Tambopata Research Centre.) The lodges are incredible. Being in a jungle and far away from the world is an exhilarating experience. Having a whole month in the rainforest and in this environment allowed me to relax and absorb the space, the people, the jungle and myself. The art of exploration could not get any more comfortable and luxurious.Was I spoiled? Yes, very much so and I love the memory that stays with me. I developed 2 major bodies of work during my residency in the Amazon at the Rainforest Expedition Lodges. One of them is a photography series and the other one is experimental electronic soundscapes. Experimental Soundscapes: Ayse Balko, Amazon, Come To Tower With Me                            ...

 At the end, the sound meets with dance and  a painting is born.   The Heart Painting:  Size 2x1meter TO ME in 2013-14: With a curiosity and a want to see my HOW MANY (3-4-5) dimensional thought patterns and intentions on a canvas as 2-dimensional paint marks had been haunting me when I was practicing my tai-chi in my studio on a cold February evening in 2012. Tai-Chi Warrior 2x1 meter I stepped over a piece of board, poured some paints on it and carried on doing my ta-chi session. Since then my feet have been in many paint splashes across the world. Each painting is a map of intentions set, a non-verbal dialog. I feel as if my body is a brush of a calligrapher and I move with the breath. The calligrapher is the designer of the system and it is so vivid as the raw, primal force which can be connected through rituals. A Shaman performs the ritual with paint, sound and dance to connect with the calligrapher. THE PAİNTİNGS ARE MOR...

Size: 1x2meters PHOTO GALLERY  

This is my attempt to be invisible in a city. Ended up accumulating thousands of photos. These are random selection. GALLERY

Toast Magazine Review http://www.toastmagazine.net/uncategorized/countless-the-riverside-22512/ COUNTLESS @ RIVERSIDE Aysegul THORNETT’s above the bar gallery show was billed as a step into the subconscious mind. Oil paint, acrylic and pastel create the impression that, with this show, I have perhaps stepped into the dreams of a mad woman.  This Sheffield based painter, sculptor and performance artist uses canvas and cardboard to display the inner workings of a mind that is searching to find a balance between the culture she was raised in and the one that she now lives and works within.   The Riverside endeavour to support the local art scene and its upstairs room compliments the works on show. Its white space, flowing river and a smattering of locals who are eager to have a chat about the arts, enriching the works as only our city knows how.   The jumble of ideas collide and contrast resulting in works such as Loverman; a ghostly and alluring p...

2 weeks ago on Saturday, I did long and deep stretch. I felt my body wanted to do so. It felt good for my lower back and my groin area first until I went out for a run at the Mill House Park. I literally could manage to do half an hour jog and my right hip was in agony. It was the weirdness sensation in my inner leg and outer hip join. From the inside of my foot to off the knee, slightly inside towards back of the knee, there was this pain as if my muscles are being torn apart with each step. I had to walk back home under the rain gave me an insight on how the muscles are connected from my lower back to my foot. The first attempt to do some moves was last Wednesday on 26th November at the Bank Street Arts gallery with Herve and his alto sax. Although the week before Herve's reiki session eased my pain, my movements were restricted I dance and paint with my bare feet with live improvised music as one of my ongoing projects. Knowing I have limitations draws me back in at the...

In the bases of being a moral Refugee. Being a refugee is not being a victim. As a refugee, you can empower yourself by believing your power, inner gentle strength and uniting with positive attitude organisations and people. You can find your way out from undesired circumstances. The road for empowerment is from accepting the situation you are in, not in a victimised way but in a clear headed, focus minded, looking for solutions and willing to carry on with always positive attitude to reach the destination. Even though being a refugee is a catastrophic life changing/transforming state/experience, you have to have right attitude to get over it and put your life into its rail. Refugees are generally victimised. The power to change anything comes within and let no fear and victimisation enter there.  Believe you can make a difference in your life. First have a clear look at where you are and then starting moving towards where you want to be without any hesitation . Remem...