Merve Kılıçer
40х20х10 cm, luffa plant, nails, wood, textile, vinyl plastic coating
This piece is a tribute to the Luffa plant that inspires my work since 2013. I’ve included luffa to my practice through various mediums such as printmaking, installation and recently it became the protagonist of my short film "Nest Egg" representing fertility and cycle of life. The imprint of its xylem fiber network was used in the handmade etching book "Tiamat" (2014) and again the pieces of the fibre structure were used to make cyanotype prints on paper. The resistant and sponge like body of the fruit is a great material to experiment with and will probably continue taking part in my practice appearing in different roles.
- Audio file
Merve Kılıçer (born in 1987 in Istanbul) is a multi disciplinary artist and an entrepreneur in art focused activities. She draws inspiration from historic and traditional modes of culture-art production and translates them into contemporary experiences. Her practice urges from personal experiences and tries to find a non-didactic yet politically engaged position in relation to her background and history. Installation, sculpture, performance, traditional print, video and sound are all mediums that create a ground for growth in her practice. She often creates in collaboration with other artists as duos or collectives. She worked with KABA HAT artist collective from 2011 till 2020, and currently works with Eathouse cooking collective and lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands as part of W1555 creative community. She lives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands as part of W1555 creative community and works in Amsterdam Gerrit Rietveld Academy as printmaking workshop specialist. She holds a MFA degree from Piet Zwart Institute in 2019 (Rotterdam), after studying at the Sabancı University Visual Arts Department (Istanbul). Her work has been shown at Arter Istanbul, Freiburg Museum für Neue Kunst, and at the 14th Istanbul Biennial and have participated in residency programs such as Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium and SAHA Studios in Türkiye.
Website: mervekilicer.com
Website: mervekilicer.com