K a y d e A n o b i l e
WORK IN PROGRESS - 2017
Based on my experiences of various cultures, migration and the idea of culture shock in general, I am currently working on an installation involving 3D printing and projection as well as new paintings and drawings. More to follow soon...
RECENT PAINTINGS -2015
My most recent series of paintings is mainly a response to the changing physical and social identity of Istanbul. Since moving to Turkey in 2012, I have been documenting both the landscape and old abandoned buildings, many of which were properties owned by minorities confiscated by the state due to various legislative and political measures taken over the years in Turkey for a variety of reasons. These homes are dotted throughout the city, each in their own dilapidated states of limbo. As modern building developments sweep through Istanbul, their existence is increasingly perilous.
Despite (or thanks to) their flimsy state, many still have a powerful presence sandwiched between newer concrete constructions or left for nature to take over. They are a reminder of lost lives, abandoned homes, different people and histories having passed through the city.
I primarily work with encaustic paint, which is a mixture of beeswax, tree resin and pigment. It is one of the oldest painting mediums to date. I usually layer my paintings with pure beeswax but began layering them with the modern material of synthetic resin since moving to Turkey. This combination was appropriate for the confluence of subjective memory and objective reality I am currently exploring.
My work situates itself where opposing ideas meet; the uncanny, the undefined, the in-between of given concepts. I am currently interested in migration as it undermines the idea of home as a permanent settlement – the notion of permanence becomes temporary. What you choose or are forced to leave behind is as important as what you decide to bring.
PREVIOUS WORK
Drawings
I began to use pairs and doubles to provoke questions about identity perception and the notion of the other in my most recent drawings. I explore an in-between space that draws on theories of the uncanny. The concept of a doppelganger encapsulates the mutability of identity by presenting the uncanny possibility that there could be another ‘you’ in existence. Identity is to a certain extent based on perception and preconceived notions. In my art practice I use what are considered to be traditional materials that have a certain history attached to them, yet in a form that confounds expectations. A simple pencil drawing seems to become a wood burn, a digital print transforms into a pastel drawing, a supposed oil painting is painted entirely in wax. Based on found studio portrait photographs from the Victorian and Edwardian periods, my interpretation of the images accentuate or tease out a certain ambiguity regarding gender and sexuality. I am intrigued by paradoxical outcomes and the cognitive dissonance caused by presenting contradictory ideas simultaneously. The distinction between mechanical reproduction and hand-drawn images, for instance, is blurred in my practice of ‘reproducing’ drawings which in turn, raises questions about the notions of authenticity, perception and otherness.
Installation & Photography
Identity is in many ways dependent on perception. It can be manifested in one way yet be perceived completely differently. The various personas of a person can be both solid and elusive at the same time leading one to question just how well we know ourselves, how well we know others and vice versa. "The Other" is an on going series of photographs and installations based on these ideas using the myth of the Yeti. By creating a genderless representation of this supposedly non-existent mythological being, my creatures inhabit an in-between space. I am addressing these perceptions by questioning the validity of a "solid" Identity.
Pepper's ghost
These short video pieces use the Victorian Carnival Illusion "Pepper's ghost" which uses light and reflection to transform one thing into another before the viewer's eyes. I built the model size spaces, furnished them and with the help of a circuit that kept the light dimming on a loop, filmed the illusion and looped it.