M.G. : You have surprised us this time with your self-portrait by leaving the accustomed abstract amorphous forms in your sculptures. Your material choices are also very interesting. For instance, brass is a material that you frequently use in your sculptures. This time it is used for a different idea. Could you dwell a little bit about the materials you used and the motivations of the work?

G.Ö. : When I think about self-portrait, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa comes to my mind at first. I have always been very impressed by Rembrandt's self-portraits repeatedly done at different times and Van Gogh's cut eared self-portrait.
In consequence of the spread of smartphones nowadays, selfie is not going to let go off remaining a trend. I have witnessed many times people I know or do not know taking selfies and later writing comments. The statements that they give such as; ‘‘I look nice in here’’, ‘‘here I am ugly’’, ‘‘this one is sexy’’, ‘‘this is innocent’’, ‘‘I will share this’’, ‘‘I am going to delete it’’, are related with how they want to present themselves. Using some applications, it is even common today to get a much different image than what they look like.

As I started self-portraiture, I have proceeded reviewing the relations of the portraits and selfies between the past and the present. It was exciting for me as an artist who always has her greatest assertion in producing abstract works, to challenge the portrait images incredibly familiar in minds and trying to find ways of expressing myself.

As a sculptor, the materials have always been attractive to me. I chose materials that I used in the self-portrait by assessing my moods. One day, during one of our sessions with my psychoanalyst, I suddenly said ‘I am so fragile' and I was so recoiled and surprised how I said it. Though I do not want to be recognized as a fragile person, I am fragile, I admit it. To me the roughest representation of fragility is glass. However, if I only use glass in the shape of a bell, I thought, I would be able to accommodate both the emotions that I want to show and to keep myself.

Since I go through life and death simultaneously, I used spring branches made of plastic in the bell glass. When I want to refer to the past, I use the pedestal. The fact that this bell glass has a pedestal is a symbol to point out to its roots in ground and even the soil. The brilliant brass I used on the pedestal; is used to be a material that I employ when I think about my beloved ones. The indigo bluish pigment I used in the bell glass allows to disclose my inner world and thus represents my transparency aiming to create a feeling of fluidity.

When I thought about this self-portrait, I questioned whether it was a self-portrait or a still life work. My answer is, both are relevant, in the context of art history as well as in terms of my emotions.

I have a 13-year-old son and when I show Ömer a photo of my self-portrait, I come across the question ‘‘Are you influenced by the Little Prince?’’ This is pointing to some ideas that I had not thought of and could open up other gateways of reflection.