Ozlem is a Turkish born artist who now lives and works in Adelaide. She studied painting, completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Suleyman Demirel in Turkey. Before becoming a full-time artist, she enjoyed an 18-year academic career as a lecturer in Theatre Stage Design Department at the University of Dokuz Eylul in Turkey, where she attained a Master’s Degree and PhD. She has had a number of solo and group exhibitions in Turkey, Japan, Australia and Albania.
The inspiration for her works stems from her belief that everybody has an individual story, which is written spontaneously. "Just like characters in the theatre, we play various roles in our "scriptless" lives. Sometimes we are the protagonists, sometimes we are the supporting cast, and other times, we are just the passerby. So, to me, everyone's story is unique and precious. As an artist, I try to touch these stories and paint with these questions in mind – 'Who are we?', 'Who were we?', and 'Who will we be?".
Her characters do not possess any particular gender, age, religion, nationality, skin colour and are not flawless. Instead, the characters are illustrations of humankind's attributes, the ones that make our lives meaningful. They are representatives of our universal moral values. It is the presence or absence of these moral values in our lives that provoke the extensive palette of human emotion. She invites the audience to approach her works with an openness that allows them to engage in a self-directed journey.
"Each work I make represents a discovery, one revealing step after another along the way. Each piece of work also represents a moment of reflection. They help locate me on my journey and provide suggestions for direction. As I follow them step-by-step, they serve to continually simplify my journey, not simplifying in the sense of less and less, but providing me with more clarity and meaning to the essence of life."
Ozlem is an adventurous visual artist who works in both expressionist and abstract modes to express deeply felt notions of human nature and natural beauty. She works several style and techniques, mixed medium on different surfaces as well as clay sculptures and reliefs.
