Ömer Emre Yavuz, who uses scrap materials in the majority of his sculptures, takes the forms of Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Anatolian civilizations, which are not actually works of art, as a basis and transforms them into works of art in a way that works as a metaphor for today's people.
"Ömer Emre Yavuz shapes scrap material once again in his exhibition “Mea Culpa” (My Crime). The exhibition, which can be viewed in the Artvarium project room at the Project 4L Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, features 10 works by the artist. Yavuz, the son of poet and philosopher Hilmi Yavuz and theater actress Esin Eden, says, “It is difficult to be a sculptor in Turkey”... Making sculpture is also a crime, it depends on how you look at it. The general framework of my work is a criticism of a government. So maybe I chose this title as a stance against it. Also, everyone has been making and leaving works for years. It's as if there is an anxiety to leave one more thing before leaving. I find this disturbing and illogical. In my opinion, this is also a crime. The title of your exhibition is “Mea Culpa”... What is the crime? Kafka analogy When you start making sculptures, materials come to you spontaneously or randomly. First I used stone. But when working with stone, you have to design the work first and then start practicing. I don't like that very much. I like the work to take shape while it's being made. Metal is more suitable for that. Maybe I was attracted by the fact that the ones I made with scrap materials looked like they could be made by anyone. Why do you use especially industrial materials and scrap in your works?
Generally, emphasizing an idea, a thematic structure is not very predominant in my works. But I wanted this exhibition to be a bit more thematic. My figurative sculptures do not represent insects or humans. They are all a reaction against both the concept of power and violence. You avoid starting from certain concepts in your exhibitions. Do you think it's better for the sculptures to speak? I don't know the answer to that, it's a big word. Maybe it's like seeing through a stone... I have an insect sculpture, maybe my brother was inspired by it and said that. Your father wrote about your exhibition in one of his articles. And he included a quote by your brother Ali Hikmet about you: “Is Ömer the sculptor of Kafka?” ‘I don't have to surpass my father’ Of course, it helped. Although sculpture was never mentioned at home, poetry was always mentioned. It has contributed to my sculpture work in terms of theory and inspiration. Did Hilmi Yavuz's identity as an artist have any influence on you? It is actually difficult to be Hilmi Yavuz's son. For example, you feel a weight in terms of expectations. But since I don't have the same profession as my father, we didn't have any problems. He sets an example in front of me, but I don't have to surpass him. Were there any disadvantages?
Sculpture is a little more difficult to produce in Turkey than in other countries. Because there is no buyer. You buy a painting and hang it on your wall. Sculpture requires a place. Sculptors don't actually live. You can't graduate from school and earn money. In this case, you have to do other jobs or go abroad. Most of those who continue sculpture work at universities. When we ask how many sculptors you know, at most five people are mentioned. Even people on the street hardly know one or two. The exhibition can be seen until February 24th."
-Milliyet Sanat
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