Azat Yeman
Azat Yeman, who studied in the Painting Department of Kırşehir Anatolian Fine Arts High School between 2005-2009, graduated from Ondokuz Mayıs University's Painting Education Department in 2013 .
Yeman, who settled in Istanbul in 2016 and began his independent art journey, has works in many private and corporate collections both in Turkey and abroad.
“My works, which at first glance give the impression of a portrait, transform into reflections of countenances upon closer inspection.”
From the Visible to the Invisible
My works, which at first glance give the impression of a portrait, transform into reflections of countenances upon closer inspection; they point to the existence of invisibility, starting from what is visible and known.
My reality within the invisible is the phenomenon of “the depleted and consumed self.” Selves struggling within matter gain existence on the artwork and become images.
They are like secret letters emphasizing the true meaning. Deception, betrayal, abandonment, and the collapse of beliefs pass before our eyes like a film strip .
Consumed Identities
Consumption has begun and will continue until it consumes differences and values, making them resemble itself.
We cannot find these in specific ethnic identities. The figures I use in my paintings are neither Roman nor Turkish. Whether their name is Semra or Isabel means nothing.
Identities have no names. Because every structure is only a part and a tool serving a single purpose.
“The bodies in the works are no one and everyone.”
The Reality Behind the Masks
The masks on the countenances and the real faces behind those masks are the result of all experiences, sorrow, and pain, everything I felt by personally going through them.
The figures' self-assured stances, unaware of the danger, give the feeling that they are about to change at any moment. The transparent boundaries surrounding them seem to clarify with awareness.
The bodies in the works are no one and everyone. They are bodies that are left alone in crowds, consumed by consuming, transformed into soulless images, having lost their identities and belonging.
They are figures imprisoned in their own prisons, obedient, and proving their existence through obedience...
“Selves struggling within matter gain existence on the artwork and become images.”
