Begüm Malkoçlar
About
Begüm Malkoçlar is a Turkish artist currently living and working in London. Her work focuses on investigating the intrinsic link between reality and fiction, alluding to the dynamic nature of memory itself which changes and shifts as time and setting change. By attempting to understand her cultural background, she takes a step backwards and examines reflections of memories in a humanistic and tender manner. She is interested in the particularity of the memories as they comes from a very subjective point of view and provide one with the material for communication and the necessary tools to create meanings out of the world. Through her art practice, Begüm navigates fundamental themes surrounding identity, existence, family, generational differences, and time. To bridge the past with present, she employs a variety of media, including analog and digital film, hand-drawn and digitally-drawn illustrations, collages, and writings. Begüm maintains a playful, child-like disposition in her art, where fiction and non-fiction are intricately woven together, culminating in a theatrical re-staging of moments. As a contemporary artist, Begüm actively strives to preserve the past and all of its meanings while also allowing for the adaptation and acceptance of new interpretations over time.
Begüm holds a BA diploma from the Pratt Institute, NYC and is currently completing her Master at the Royal College of Art in Contemporary Art Practice.
Statement
Memories are a fictitious realm, similar to the fictional worlds we encounter in stories and myths that are subject to change over time. Thereby, the concept of absolute truth remains elusive in the domain of memories since they exist subjectively, influenced by the mind and emotions. Our minds do not consciously curate which memories to keep and which ones to discard, and sometimes we hold on to certain memories for a lifetime, while others remain dormant in the depths of our minds. What makes memories truly unique and exciting is the contrast between what we intend to capture and what we unintentionally capture at the end. Parallel to a fictional world, memories saturate otherwise mundane moments with a mise-en-scène and a compelling narrative, adding a very unique perspective of seeing, interpreting and sharing our ways of being.
For this particular story, everything started with a peculiar sunflower. I remembered my grandpa sitting on a plastic chair with faded and dried sunflower on his lap and the story began. This sunflower became a symbol, an emotion, a question, an answer, and a journey to comprehend the essence of our beings. Through the sunflower, I remembered. Through the the sunflower, I asked myself the question:
How can we hold on to something that constantly slips away from our fingers?
Our encounter with time is complex, enigmatic, and never-ending, but through our understanding of the relationship between space and time, we can better position ourselves in this world. Time contains infinite existence and expansive pool of data, so grand that the human mind ultimately fails to fully comprehend the extent of what it really is. Hence, it must be broken down into fragments in order to be accesible to the mind. Just like analyzing a single frame of a filmstrip, the components of time has to be reduced into small, brief, comprehensible parts so that the mind can process and make meaning out of it.
The fragments of life.
Life is but a collection of fragments, the everlasting essences of existence, and our relationships with the elements that comprise it. Each element serves a vital role in the narrative that is our life story. The world around us, the people we encounter, and the infinite moments of the present; every object, person, emotion, and loss that shapes us is woven together, one thread at a time, like a tapestry. Our quest for meaning is never-ending, and though we may not have all the answers, we gradually come to understand ourselves better.
We Are All Here
These collage works fuse together obscure visages - visages that were once cherished friends, beloved families, intimate lovers, or merely fleeting glimpses of strangers - lost and faded in the passing of time. By assembling these forgotten photographs into a new medium, these collages provide audiences with an unprecedented connection to these bygone individuals. With a blend of vitange photographs and modern digital illustration techniques, the artist breathes new life into these long gone moments, rendering them accessible, thought-provoking, and exciting to audiences in distant places and times.
The repetition of patterns echoes the profound time spent contemplating these photographs, embalming time and immersing oneself in the captured lives of people of an era. The artist believes deeply in the bond formed between as viewer and subject, and endeavors to create such intimacy in every observer of their work. By embellishing these images with vivid colors, amusing patterns, and motion graphics, the artist calls the viewers to collaborate, crafting a common experience and emotions that celebrates the tenacity and mystery of the human face immortalized in these snapshots. Such a fusion of technology and traditional photography breathes new meaning and purpose into these photographs, creating timeless configurations that highlight the interconnected links between history and contemporary culture.
Medium: Digital Illustration
Writer's Desk
The Writer's Desk series offers a profound contemplation of the writing process and its fundamental connection to the art of storytelling. Storytelling is rooted in the human desire for self-expression, as we convey our experiences through retelling the moments that have shaped us. It is through individual and collective memories that we are able to create a framework from which to express ourselves. Our unique minds and interpretations define how we see both ourselves and the world around us.
Through this collection of short films, the artist positions herself as both writer and director, offering a poignant and personal reflection on the important figures in her life. The narration is accompanied by a blend of Super8 film and digital videos, combining different technologies and eras to create a touching montage of archival material. This approach demonstrates the artist's desire to understand the intricate components of her identity, from places and moments to influential people and particular sounds and textures of her past.
In exploring her past, the artist rediscovers the unique bonds of family, her coming-of-age story, and a deep connection to a never-changing childlike spirit. By interweaving different eras and technologies to capture images and emotions, the artist brings to life the intricate web of relationships that ultimately shaped her personal history, mind and body. This collection is a powerful exploration of the fusion between writing and storytelling and how our relation to the world shape our identity.
Medium: Analog and Digital Film
The Patterns of Our Childhood
This is a short film about childhood exploring the theme of memories from the unique lens of movement, physical touch, and play. The composition of the film is built by separating the positive and negative space. Therefore, the foreground and background are split up and to visualize connectedness two-dimensionally on the screen amd patterns, colors, and textures are used. These visual and audio cues act as tools for evoking the five senses, transporting the viewers to a space of time of their childhood. The silhouetted figures stage movement of friendship, love and connection to emphasize the pure, natural and simple way of building relationships from a children's point of view.
Medium: Video
Size: 4 min