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Ebru Akıncı, who completed her sculpture education at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, is a sculptor who is devoted to natural stone. In 2012, the artist moved to Carrara, Italy to study stone sculpture techniques and focus more closely on the art of stone sculpture, and returned to Istanbul in 2013. She works with natural stone in her works and believes that this material personalizes her work and adds identity to her works. We talked to Ebru Akıncı, who has participated in national and international exhibitions, art events and symposiums in many countries since her university years and designed sculptures for large-scale public spaces, about her creative processes, her works in which she carefully handles marble, and the sources of inspiration she finds in stone material.
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How did your interest in design and art develop?
I had been involved and interested in painting from an early age, but in my university life I was oriented towards social sciences and art was second in my life at that time. While I was studying at Ankara Hacettepe University, Department of History, I started taking drawing classes with the encouragement of my friends from the sculpture department; then I found myself in the special talent exam. I won the sculpture department. Then, as you know, I transferred from the history department. I continued my education on stone sculpture at MSU Sculpture Department in Istanbul and completed my undergraduate education in the same department. I studied stone sculpture at the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts in Italy.
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What significance does sculpture hold in your creative process?
Sculpture sits at the center of my artistic productions. Everything else revolves around it, feeds it and creates a source for it.
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How does the concept and design process for your creations unfold?
In general, a concept originating from a feeling, situation, phenomenon or event that affects me from nature, mythology and philosophy is shaped in my mind in line with my inner world. Sometimes small scribbles, but usually with the help of clay, it becomes clear and finds its final form. Then, with the help of plaster or a similar intermediate material, I take the mold and create a model of it. And finally, I select the stone with the appropriate dimensions and qualities for the design and transfer it.
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As a sculptor working with natural stone, what led you to choose this material? What can you tell us about your perspective on natural stone?
Stone is indispensable for me; I love its durability, but despite this durable, massive and heavy perception, I love the sensitivity, fragility and softness of its content. Stone also plays a role in my works, supporting the formal characteristics and subject matter, giving it its identity. Carrying the life story of the earth’s crust in its curves, texture and colors, marble adds its own adventure to this process.
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Which natural stones do you use in your sculptures? Do you have preferred quarries?
The Anatolian stones I use the most are Muğla, Afyon and Marmara marbles. There is no quarry I particularly prefer.
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As an artist, what do you find and not find in stone as a material?
It is generally a material suitable for massive form applications and is not suitable for very fine form applications; it becomes fragile and its sensitivity increases. If your design has fine details, you should work patiently, carefully, listening to the stone and with precision.
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In your meticulously crafted designs like “Wind,” “Seeds,” and “Lethe,” how do you convey the connection between the material and the concept?
In the works, the unity, interaction or tension of opposing principles in nature manifests itself as a composition of form and texture contrasts. These forms, which constitute the basic principle of form, are in a dynamic balance. While the massive outer forms define the sculpture’s relationship with the environment, the textures and inner forms express the inner mood of the sculpture. The relationship between massive, geometric elements and organic, soft, fluid textured elements in the sculptures expresses this dialogue, while at the same time emphasizing how fragile, soft and sensitive the stone is in addition to its massive, heavy, hard appearance and quality. Therefore, natural stone contributes to the works with its own quality.
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Can you tell us about your current projects?
I trace new ideas and forms that originate from Eastern philosophy and practices. The sprouting of these forms in the mind, reading, writing, drawing, research and our planet and its beautiful nature are my main sources of nourishment.
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