Sezin Aksoy
Born in Istanbul in 1981. Lives between London and Bodrum,Turkey. Studied in School of Museum of Fine Arts Boston, today known as Tufts University. Graduated in 2007 with Post Baccalaurate Degree in Fine Arts. Aksoy has been working in Fine Arts since 2005 has given four solo exhibitions in Istanbul and recent solo exhibition in April 2024 in Fitzrovia Gallery, London. She has attended several international group exhibition in Tokyo, Paris, Salzburg, Barcelona and will attend next one in Nov 2025 in Galleria Azure Berlin.
In your artist statement, you mention that your work revolves around transformation, not just in form but in thought and spirituality. Can you elaborate on how this theme of 'trans' has evolved in your artistic journey, particularly in your recent works?
Transformation has always been central to my work, reflecting both personal and universal shifts. Over time, my focus has deepened to include the spiritual and mental aspects of change. In Transit, I approach transformation as a healing journey, guiding viewers through a metaphorical "transit" where they reconnect with nature and reawaken parts of themselves that modern life often suppresses. Therefore, mental shifts will awaken new kinds of thinking progress at the person whom has formed a special connection with my artwork.
Your art has been showcased internationally in cities like Tokyo, Paris, and London. How have these diverse cultural environments influenced your perspective on 'change' and 'transformation,' and do these influences appear in your works?
Experiencing diverse cultures has profoundly expanded my understanding of transformation. Each place has its own approach to time, space, and spiritual practices, which has enriched my art. For example, the contrasts in tempo and tradition between Tokyo and Paris showed me different aspects of change—some quiet and meditative, others vibrant and immediate. These influences find their way into my work as contrasts in color, form, and even space, inviting viewers to engage in their own layered experiences of transformation.
In your 2024 exhibition "Transit" at Fitzrovia Gallery, you incorporated a performance piece titled "Interconnected Threads." Could you tell us more about the concept behind this performance and its relation to the overarching theme of your exhibition?
Interconnected Threads was conceived as an interactive experience reflecting the underlying theme of interconnectedness in Transit. In the performance, I weave symbolic representations with nature of threads representing intercommunication and relationships’ connection between humans. Relating to how humans tend to form a bond and even intend to cut the relations, are represented by people choosing to tie threads to nails on walls by coming all together. All ties built by gallery visitors formed representation of social bonds, in which has finalised into an evolving tapestry in the gallery space where they met. The piece is representing the hidden yet powerful bonds between people, animals, and nature, encouraging viewers to consider how their lives are interwoven with all living things. The performance acts as a meditative journey for viewers, allowing and inviting them to witness transformation in real-time.
Your practice spans painting, performance, and installation art. What drives you to explore different mediums, and how does each form contribute to your expression of 'change and movement in space'?
I’m drawn to the unique languages that each medium offers for exploring transformation. Paintings allow me to express subtle details of color by using color therapy as the main psychological theme to evoke an emotional movement within the viewer by the choice of my color and use of light. Meanwhile, the use of empty space representing how humans in modern society tend to find empty spaces within their psyche and chose to fill them up with unhealthy habits. However, as I try to fill up the empty spaces with the forms of nature and animals that carrys symbolic meanings than I tend to fill up the viewers empty spaces with healing thoughts filled with spiritual understannding. Meanwhile performance allows me to share all spiritiual part of me with audience with real-time experience by letting them experience meditation and explore their subconcious through sound or experience within gallery space. Installation bridges all these by creating an immersive space where viewers can walk through or be part of the artwork. Each medium provides a new perspective on movement and transformation, making the experience of change tangible and accessible from different angles.
You’ve stated that your work is deeply rooted in the philosophical and psychological exploration of life’s transitory nature. Are there particular philosophers or theories that have significantly shaped your work and your understanding of transformation?
In my Transcendental series, I was influenced by philosophical works of Kant. When Immanuel Kant published ‘Kritik der reinen Vernuft’ (Critique of Pure Reason) in 1781, the work became the most fundamental piece in the history of philosophy. Kant brought a new meaning to transcendent in modern philosophy. Transcendental knowledge is explained as understanding of an object’s existence through sensibility before knowingness of an object. Human’s sensibility of an object depending on senses and intuition in different phrases without depending on the object itself.Transcendental philosophy is the wisdom of pure speculative reason that studies the objects in the two pure forms of sensuous intuition named time and space. When logic is based on judgments and experiences, pure logic is pushed aside by inner knowledge and senses so that understanding depends on transcendental ideality. As space being infinite depending on the imagination differs and time as human creation without a definite representation are all forms of internal sense, that is, of our intuition of ourselves, and of our internal state within nature.. They are all a phenomena because of depending on senses and intuition. When Kant analyzes the phenomena, he emphasizes that understanding concepts is formed by creating judgments depending on experiences so that knowledge is followed by synthesis of imagination belonging to the transcendental acts of the soul. On the other hand, Metaphysics is a science that studies non-existent objects and knowledge that depends on the inner consciousness and senses that it is transcendental. As all these knowledge being non-existent do not hold us back from not thinking of them but also would not help us to come to a certain definition. They are all speculative understanding in nature mechanism as only standing away from knowing but a belief. In addition, I have studied transpersonal psychology to understand more about human psyche through the idea of transcendent in modern philosophy and search of meaning of self in modern society through meditation.
Your art often touches on elements of religion and sociology. How do these fields intersect with your exploration of change, and do you see your work as offering a commentary on the current social or spiritual state of the world?
Religion and sociology both explore the human quest for meaning and the structures that shape our experiences. In Transit, I touch on these fields by drawing on shamanistic practices and symbolic animal figures that represent deeper sociological needs for balance and unity. My work offers a reminder that as we progress materially, we risk losing touch with the spiritual aspects of our existence. I aim to foster a quiet space where viewers can reflect on their place in a larger social and spiritual ecosystem. Shamanisn is not a religion but believed to be the oldest form of connection to spirit and higher form of life and it has large forms of healing abilities by the use of nature. Its main quest is to analyse nature, animals and universe to build meaning in humans existence. As I have been exploring different religions and its relation to sociology, I have realised that shamanism has deeper meaning that can bring unjudgemental understanding of higher existence. In modern understanding, I believe humans are searching for more humanistic approach to spirituality and their meaning in existance.
With your background in both fine arts and performance, how do you perceive the role of audience engagement in your work? Do you intend for viewers to experience a sense of personal transformation or reflection when they interact with your pieces?
I aim for viewers to feel immersed, almost as if they’re co-creators of the experience. When they engage with a piece, be it through a performance or a painting, I hope they pause, reflect, and perhaps undergo a subtle transformation. Art, for me, is a dialogue; through symbols and colors, I invite viewers to reconnect with forgotten parts of themselves, facilitating moments of self-discovery and healing. A specially at my sound performances, I intend to evoke a search of meaning in the visitors inner psyche during their attendance at the performance. I invite them to a meditative stage at the sound healing seassion and try to cocreate a colorful psyche at their theta stage of their minds eye. In their dreamstate, I intend to create a colorful space for them which they may carry within their memory.
Your work suggests a profound interest in the interconnectedness of all living things. Can you speak about how you approach depicting this unsustainable energy you see in nature? How does it translate visually in your paintings or installations?
I aim to capture nature’s cycles of energy—growth, decay, rebirth—and how every living thing relies on these rhythms. I often depict fungi, insects, and animals because they represent these vital connections within ecosystems. By using colors and textures that feel organic and earthy, I aim to create visuals that convey this ongoing exchange of energy. Through installations, I amplify this by shaping spaces that evoke natural environments, immersing viewers in an experience that highlights the importance of sustainable, harmonious existence.
In 2019, you ventured into writing fiction. Could you share how storytelling through writing complements or contrasts with storytelling through visual art? Are there themes in your written work that parallel those in your visual art?
In 2019 I have written a fiction book named Transpersonal B333 which was telling a story of a woman’s spiritual journey and her connection with a shaman. The book was published before the opening of my solo exhibition where the visitors had the chance to meet with the paintings that has similar connections with the main characters imagination. So that paintings has withdraw a special bond with the story of the book and the paintings. As the main character of the book had many experiences with meditation, the performance art and video art that are smilar had a special connection with the fiction theme of B333. It even built a basis to the upcoming series of Transit by exploring shamans and their animal spirit quests.
Looking forward, you have an upcoming group exhibition in Berlin in 2025. What new directions or ideas are you currently exploring in your work, and how do you envision these evolving in future exhibitions?
I am currently exploring plants and plant medicine. I am doing a research on modern biologists and plant researchers. I am recently reading a book called What a Plant Knows written by Daniel Chamovitz to explore how plants are sensing their environment and building connections with other plants. I believe these researchs will bring a deeper meaning to my next performance art and visual art. Plants play a major tone in ecosystem and exists as a major healing tool in shamanism. I would like to capture the sense of plants healing abilities and exhibit their major role in alternative medicine in my future series of work.