From ancient codes to modern rhythms
Our London-based artist Seçil Erel opened her new exhibition Alliance at D-Contemporary in Mayfair (3-15 June)
ESIN HAMAMCI
esinhamamci@gmail.com
London-based independent contemporary artist and entrepreneur Seçil Erel’s art opens up an uninterrupted dialogue between times and geographies. The classical education she received at Mimar Sinan University was combined with the multicultural structure of Istanbul and transformed by London’s contemporary art climate.
The artist's oil paintings and installations can be seen at the Alliance exhibition, which will take place at D-Con-temporary on Grafton Street in Mayfair, London, between June 3-15, and will also include London Gallery Weekend.
You like to blend Eastern and Western, ancient and modern elements in your art practice...
Beyond my love for this blend, this is actually my state of being. The effects of consciousness and instinctive knowing seen in my paintings are reflected in a cultural heritage that includes the mysticism of the East, the intellectual influence of the West, and the geographies I feel I belong to.
The simplest of all, during my youth, I used to travel back and forth from the Anatolian Side to Europe every day.
It is a beauty that I remember from my past. While being from Istanbul already provides this, the historical, artistic and cultural connections that London has established with the whole world have a great effect and are also very influential in my inspiration and production process. I have been living in London since 2017. This started as a result of a process. I can say that it is a transformation in the way that life flows into me instead of flowing into life.
What are the themes and works in your exhibition in London?
D-Contemporary's second. In the space consisting of sections, firstly in the first section, I will exhibit works in which modularity and geometry remind us of themselves, as well as a painting installation representing the small change that change in infinity will create; in the second section, I will exhibit my works in which the units are the works themselves.
In addition to 12 oil paintings consisting of my paintings named Coherence, Alliance, Journey, there is a relocatable painting installation consisting of oil paintings with the concept of change and probabilistic thinking.