We were at Sculptor Başak Cansu Güvenkaya’s London studio where her sculptures and drawings presents a colorful and warm world alternative to the dark and fears.
Interview: Büşra Soydemir
It is apparent from the works that you had fun while producing them. What does the state of production look like to you other than fun?
Producing is like playing a game for me. Before I start creating, I always have a plan or an idea, but I often do not follow a program in my production process. Trial and error, addition and subtraction are part of this game; it's up to me to build or break it. The state of production is also a need for me. I feel brave and free while editing and producing sculptures, paintings that are part of the world I have created. Sculpting is a physical activity, and being able to create something with my hands makes me strong. My workshop is where I take power into my hands.
The subject of your works is shaped around the concept of fear; you struggle with this darkness by playing games. How did you create such a fabulous recipe?
As a colorful and alternative way to deal with my anxieties and fears concerning the future, I decided to create a colorful world without evil. I think of this place as a safe playground. Here I can feel unworried, just as I did when I was a child. I am the courageous one in this game. I resist the darkness by showing my colored thorns. My works are figures that devour evil. Being able to play with the sculptures and colors physically takes me to the safe, positive, and fun feeling I felt in my childhood.
Your productions portray utopian and colorful geography through the people living in that geography. What are the meanings of the symbols that determine the identities of their characters?
Although my sculptures that live in the colorful world I have created have sharp teeth or are in the form of monsters, they are not scary; they exist to protect us, to turn negativity into positivity. They detect evil with their eyes, destroy evil with their teeth, and snakes heal the wounds inflicted in this struggle. Bright colors drive away the bad, just as poisonous animals drive the dangerous away.