SELMA GURBUZ - KAMIYAMA II

Selma Gürbüz develops a unique style with ink applications on handmade papers. Especially in her paper works, the artist recreates the visual traditions of Western art with Eastern motifs and symbols with a different interpretation. In her productions, the artist draws inspiration from Anatolian stories, Eastern and Western mythologies, Shamanism narratives, Turkish and Iranian miniatures, Japanese woodblock prints and Byzantine iconography.

As a result of the cultural interactions that developed within the framework of the colonial process that Western countries entered into with the African continent, African masks, which have found a place in art movements such as Cubism, Fauvism and Expressionism since the 20th century, are frequently used in the ceremonies and religious rituals of the people living in this continent. Masks, which are also believed to have spiritual power, are believed to establish communication between people and nature and the spirits of their ancestors. Selma Gürbüz uses these masks to depict the faces of the Masai women she encountered and was very impressed by during her trip to Tanzania.