Mamut Limited Vol.1 pop-up, the first exhibition of the Mamut Art Project team's Mamut Limited (Artist Editions) project, which aims to meet all creative people working in different fields and techniques from visual arts to design, music to fashion, took place at Yapı Kredi bomontiada between September 16-October 1, 2023. We are introducing the artists of this year's Mamut Limited, which will present special selections throughout the year on its online platform mamutlimited.com. Our seventeenth guest is Pelin Kacar
Pelin Kacar
Let's start by talking about your artistic journey. You graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University, from Film & Television and Advertising. What inspired you to become an artist; how did you start making art?
This process starts in childhood. Children's curiosity and interests usually become apparent at playtime. There is a memory I remember from my preschool days, I used to arrange books around me in a rectangle, sit in the middle and create new stories from the book titles. Then, I would make my family watch these stories come to life with toys. At this point, the subject goes beyond just being on your own. When it is storytelling that nourishes you and makes you feel happy, you want to have an audience, no matter what your age is. Your production turns into a means of communication. Over the years, this communication develops, takes shape, and diversifies.
My production approach is to focus on alternative stories that emerge by collecting pieces of my own culture and the change processes of different cultures.
How does your local culture and environment influence your artistic work? Do the materials and techniques you use in your art find an echo in this interaction network?
Istanbul is the city where I was born and raised. Like most metropolises, it has undergone and continues to undergo a great change over time. This change causes the people who live and produce here to move further and further away from their own identities. My production approach is to focus on alternative stories that emerge by collecting pieces of my own culture and the change processes of different cultures.
Phantasmagoric Fables series, AI Generated Image, Fine art print, 30×30 cm, Edition of 5+1
The Phantasmagoric Fables series we saw at Mamut Limited includes visuals created with Artificial Intelligence. I would like to talk about this series, can you share the story behind it? What is behind the creation of these scenes?
Phantasmagoria is a term that refers to a series of rapidly changing surreal and fantastical images often seen in art, literature, or vivid imagination. I think it represents the initial stages of my creative process. Phantasmagoric Fables came about when I was thinking about the possibilities of how figures that are not breathing but trying to pretend to be alive might look like.
When we talk about dreams and dreams, we are going to a place outside the world we perceive. Although dreams are described as a natural phenomenon, as mental images and events that occur during sleep and involve auditory or emotional experiences that almost everyone experiences, it is a phenomenon that cannot be fully explained. From a psychological point of view, dreams can reflect unconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires, and for this reason, the symbolism of dreams is an important area of research for psychologists and therapists who want to analyze dreams. How involved are you in these fields? What is your approach?
I like the way my brain processes my experiences, good or bad, and presents them to me through my dreams. I don't worry about what it represents in my daily life. Pieces that I can't even imagine juxtaposing when I'm awake fall into the right sequence in my dreams. This prepares the infrastructure for the projects I want to realize in the future. It may be a cliché to be inspired by dreams, but it is a fact that the reflections of our subconscious minds influence many of us.
Phantasmagoric Fables series, AI Generated Image, Fine art print, 30×30 cm, Edition of 5+1
For you, is producing a successful work about personal satisfaction or appreciation from the art world? Why?
An organic bond develops between the artist and the work, first at the idea stage and then gradually strengthening during the production process. I attach great importance to this bond because I think we cannot expect appreciation without satisfaction. Every person wants to be appreciated at some point in their lives, but I think the main issue is to be visible. Regardless of the medium we use, what we do is storytelling. This means that the work we create has to reach people. I think the value of a work is determined by time. I think measuring success by short-term popularity is an incomplete perspective. The real value of a work is understood by its impact over time rather than instant appreciation.
Phantasmagoric Fables came about when I was thinking about the possibilities of how figures that are not breathing but trying to pretend to be alive might look like.
How do you use Artificial Intelligence to achieve the results you want? Is it more like an assistant or a creative partner?
For me, AI is somewhere between acting as an assistant and a creative partner. Depending on my projects, my purpose of use changes. When I'm preparing a concept file, it helps me to clearly articulate the visual aesthetic I want. It allows me to realize ideas like Phantasmagoric Fables that are not easy to produce in the real world in terms of production or budget.
Comments