OLGU SÜMENGEN BERKER

Galeri Soyut / Çankaya is hosting Olgu Sümengen Berker’s ceramic exhibition titled “Uzakta Evde” in Hall B from October 25 to November 6, 2024.

Uzakta Evde

Mother goddess figures, one of the important symbols of Anatolia’s rich local cultural and historical heritage, form the inspiration for Olgu Sümengen Berker’s works. Over time, these sculptures have evolved into a contemporary and individual interpretation of the female body without ever moving away from their mother goddess inspiration. Having addressed social themes such as women and gender equality in the past, the artist brings personal perspectives and interpretations more to the foreground in her recent works. The process of re-signifying concepts such as home, homeland, belonging, and changing social and physical environments brought about by living in another country has led to the emergence of more individual expressions in her works. This process has manifested itself by reflecting the artist’s visual logs onto the surfaces of her figures and egg or oval-shaped forms, which reference the themes of fertility and womanhood.

The photographs of nature and her immediate surroundings taken during her daily walks, maps of travel routes, and sometimes scribbled short texts serve as visual records she has accumulated regarding these concepts she questions.

The artist applies various printing and transfer decoration techniques to the surfaces of the sculptures and forms she produces using porcelain and high-fired clays. Different techniques are used together, even in layers. The figures and forms are fired several times to achieve this layered and detailed surface; each firing adds layers such as glazes and gold lusters, while slips, decals, and transfer prints allow the surface layers to become enriched.

The layered structure of many concepts that form the intellectual foundation of the works—such as history, cultural heritage, woman, fertility, belonging, distance, remoteness, proximity, alienation, and feeling at home—is reflected in the visual expression of the sculptures through these technical applications.

Therefore, the figures and oval forms seem to constitute each page of a diary where the artist conveys her intellectual and imaginary notes.

The Uzakta Evde exhibition not only offers an aesthetic experience but also invites the viewer on their own inner journey. Through these sculptures, the artist enables the viewer to question their own identity, sense of belonging, and feeling of place and homeland.