Paintings and Installation by Talin Gülen Schenk

Location: Ioakimion Girls High School

15.11.2024 – 30.11.2024

In the aftermath of the February 6, 2023 Antakya earthquake, Talin Gülen Schenk focused her artistic practice on creating sites of memory that symbolize resilience, loss and collective healing. The artist presents visual reflections on the importance of preserving both individual and collective memory in the aftermath of trauma.

Abstract forms are rendered in tones that depict the disorder left behind by a chaotic disaster, while at the same time hinting at the solidarity of those affected. The swirling lines and clustered shapes symbolize both the chaos caused by the earthquake and the coming together of people in solidarity. These works present a search for permanence in the ephemeral, a visual echo of voices and memories at risk of being forgotten.

Her work at Yoakimion Girls’ High School appeals to the universal need for spaces where memory can be preserved. By weaving Individual and Collective memories into these visual narratives, she creates a new vision of collective resilience that transcends geographical boundaries and invites viewers to bear witness to the story of Antakya.

Talin Gülen Schenk was born in Istanbul in 1967. She continued her art education at Kunsthochschule-Kassel in Germany in Prof. Johannes Spehr’s workshop, at Salzburg International Summer Art Academy in Ekaterina Shapiro-Obermair’s Printmaking workshop and at Işık University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Visual Arts Painting in Istanbul in Prof. Dr. Halil Akdeniz’s workshop. The artist completed a Master’s Program in Art Theory and Criticism at Isik University.

In her art, the effects created by collective memory and memory spaces have an important place. These effects are instrumental in pointing out all the records that remain hidden within us. Memory stands out as a form of expression through multiple layers in the artist’s works. The periodical search for form and the different materials chosen are among the elements that shape the artist’s forms of expression.

Talin Gülen Schenk lives between Istanbul and Germany at different intervals and continues to work in her studio in Istanbul.