HYBRID FORMS: Group Tutorial + Development

So we had a group tutorial 2 days after the brief was given. I thought they expected us to have ideas by then but thank god, neither the others had anything to present, nor Karl wanted anything presented. He just talked to us about what to be pay attention while executing this brief and our ideas. And then he gave us some advice and answered our questions.

Here are the notes from that day:

I should also explained that I had a few ideas about how my piece would look. The first one was and installation. If you ask, I have no reason why that was the first idea I got. I guess I thought hanging plaques with figures on them would be easy. Anyway, the idea was that I would engrave or cut out the figures I will form on wood sheets via the laser cutter at the 3D workshop. They had a lot of examples on the wall so I thought it was a good idea.

If the forms are compatible enough, I would hang them in an order and when you line them all up with your point of view, they would look pleasant. However, since this is supposed to be exhibited at a public place (and we were clearly asked to be aware of our limitations and interactions with the public) I couldn’t figure out how to place an installation like that to somewhere. And again, this is not my most confident side so I thought I could change the way it is exhibited.

The second idea I had came from a road separator I saw while I was walking to a venue for a concert. It was covered in detailed graffiti from top to bottom. No empty space left on it.

Later on, I saw this image on @graceneutral’s instagram story and I realized, these concrete blocks are covered with forms and shapes all the time. So I made that second sketch at the bottom.

I found other examples as well with a quick google search.

As expected, these blocks are mostly used for anti-terrorist measurements with the last picture ironically being a barricade placed at East Jerusalem.

So my idea was to create a block like this, maybe smaller in size than it’s original version, and if I can, carve my forms and designs on the block.

I come from one of the biggest cities in the world, Istanbul. I have also witnessed (and almost got caught into) A LOT of terrorist attacks in the last 5 years. I see these blocks all the time. In the most urban setting you can imagine. So since I am at home, I thought I would make a block like this, carve (or maybe paint not sure yet) my designs on it, and find a good spot to reflect the urban nature of Istanbul and to comment on how terrorism has been affecting us as a society, a city and a nation. These blocks are a part of the city now and I would love to have my artwork blend into the fabric of my favorite place in the world. Street art and graffiti is also a great part of Istanbul so bonus points on blending.