Is art a rebellion?
Or is it an inner resistance to the conditions and circumstances we were born into?
I started with a fine arts high school, majoring in painting, and continued with graphic design at the fine arts faculty in university. Since I can remember, I have been dreaming, but not about extravagant or impossible dreams. Near the end of my first year, my life changed when my mother, exhausted from her night shift, left ‘The Little Black Fish’ by Samed Behrengi by my bedside. I don’t know how many times I read it. I was born in a small town, and I became curious about the seas. So, off I went on a journey, unaware of how my roots were nourishing me.
The loss of my beloved grandmother marked the beginning of my relationship with copper pots. Imagine heaps of aged, carefully preserved copper pots handed down to me. The old folks knew the value of what they had and always found a way to polish what they had. While contemplating how to make them unique, I began experimenting with epoxy resin. I can’t recall how many ceramic and copper vessels I tried from the copper merchants. At the end of the day, my fish came to life in the copper pot filled with epoxy resin and acrylic paints.
Koi fish swimming against the current are always the symbol of my works. In the Far East, the koi fish is believed to transform into a dragon after swimming against the current to reach the source of the Yangtze River, traveling between the material and spiritual worlds. It symbolizes determination, luck, and perseverance. Combining the stories of koi fish with my own life story, I bring them to life on copper pots, wooden containers, and handmade oversized ceramic dishes through 3D drawings. Remember when I mentioned my dreams? One of them is to merge my koi fish with my sculptures. Coils wandering in the body of a child and a woman… Everything we imagine is real, as long as we believe.
Each of our stories is unique and special. Who would have thought that these coppers, beaten 150 years ago, would become a part of my most important collection? Nowadays, I am completing my Dora Series, consisting of 13 pieces, with the copper she left me. I am grateful to her for everything she has added to my life.
With love,
Haşime Altaylı