Untitled 

Curator: This mixed-media collage, an "Untitled" piece by Erol Akyavaş, presents a dense visual field inviting multiple interpretations. What’s your first reaction? Editor: My eye is immediately drawn to the juxtaposition of organic forms and reproduced images; it feels almost like a study of layers and the process of constructing meaning through fragmented elements. Curator: Absolutely, Akyavaş frequently intertwined Islamic artistic traditions with more Western, avant-garde approaches. Note the prominent placement of what appears to be a reproduction of a miniature painting alongside anatomical studies. It's fascinating to consider how these varied traditions inform each other in his work. How does materiality contribute? Editor: Well, there are prints, what appear to be watercolor elements, collage with pasted photographic reproductions... The labor invested in physically assembling this demands recognition; it acknowledges art making as an activity and intellectual labor, too. And, how these things circulate—from art markets to textbooks on anatomy—can tell a story as well. Curator: The layered imagery certainly evokes the superimposition of different cultural, historical, and perhaps even scientific modes of knowing. This could serve as a reflection of cultural hybridity and the diasporic experiences that often defined the artist's own biography. What do you see at stake in how traditions intersect or, perhaps, conflict? Editor: Yes, or co-exist! Even the very materials speak to art's intersection with science, printing, dissemination, almost like a schematic diagram for how images take form. Curator: It is interesting to see him use, appropriate, and then redeploy these images from distinct visual cultures, which speaks to issues of power, cultural exchange, and representation within a global context. Akyavaş invites us to consider the historical forces at play when images are transferred and re-contextualized, how different audiences receive and engage with visual art across cultural lines. Editor: Exactly! This assemblage transforms art making, into a kind of archive revealing cultural exchange and its social impact on both artistic processes and knowledge itself. Curator: This "Untitled" collage serves as a profound commentary on the interwoven nature of cultural heritage and artistic identity. Editor: I find this also provides a reminder to acknowledge the artistic process and labor as intertwined to these grand narratives.