Gülşah Ayla Bayrak is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '22

Gülşah Ayla Bayrak is an interdisciplinary artist based in Belgium. She grew up in both the Turkish and Belgian cultures. This clash made her a bridge between east and west. The artist focuses on Individual experience, cultural diaspora and the role of society in her life.

ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.

How did you get started as an artist?

As a kid, my dad used to bring me everywhere he went and always included his camera on this journey to capture our surroundings and scenery. So from a very young age, I started imitating my dad by creating these snapshots with my hands while he used his camera. He taught me how to look and compose pictures, stories, and dreams—growing up curious about everything around me resulted in me being bored at school, so at 14, I decided to start my art education in visual art. Since that age, I have been studying and creating art continuously.

How would you describe your artistic approach?

I always create from a memory or experience; This can be a dream, a scenario in my head or reality. From that, I try to understand and translate it into an object, an image, or a video. I believe art is an incident and must be used as a source that can stimulate the senses. It is essential that a person can interpret my art regardless of its background. When a person from Korea and Turkey stands in front of my work, I want them to experience it from their point of view and maybe even find something they can share at the end.

And how about what inspires you?

Cultural differences! I grew up bicultural in a very diverse neighbourhood of the city. What we had in common was that we were all immigrant kids. Our differences were so beautiful and enriching. I loved how objects were interpreted differently in each culture, but things like Love and happiness were all experienced similar. Because we used to listen to a lot of music from different countries, the visual culture in these video clips always inspired me incredibly. I sometimes find it hard not to be inspired by anything I see. I love motion and the simple idea of existing and experiencing.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

Even though I love culture, it also brings expectations with itself. I grew up Turkish in Belgium. At home, I had to meet the expectations of being a Turkish girl, while at school, I had to be a Belgian girl. This clash was quite hard to handle because I always had to choose one. Never fitting in one and always being the other was confusing at the time. But I tried to turn this disadvantage into an interesting question and moved on from it. Now I rather see myself as a bridge between east and west.

Describe a typical day in the studio/wherever you make your work.

I am just chaos in a human form. I don't have any structure in my life, which results in the most diverse way of working. My ideas create themselves in a split second in the most random places on the earth.

I cant work on one thing for a very long time, but I rather hyperfocus on it and finish it when I feel like it is done. This can be anywhere, with anyone, for a limited time. I noticed that I couldn't force myself to work on one thing or plan and keep the planning. I think impulsive decisions create this moment of magic I can not achieve by planning and working in a studio. The world has so much to offer, and I don't want to waste my time producing in a room.

Is there a medium, a process, or a technique that you haven't used in your work yet but would like to try out?

I am very interested but also scared of learning to code. I love being in contact with my audience and trying to find new ways of communication with them. I think knowing how to code and create these interactive works is something I want to achieve later. There is so much potential in digital art, and I am ready to explore these mediums.eets.

What are you currently working on? Or an upcoming project you want to mention?

I just finished my four-year research project on orientalism. Bloody Hamam is a project that started after the I experienced the painting La Grande Odalisque. This project demonstrates how art as experience can create a journey of researching, questioning and undergoing the art on different levels. By researching orientalism in a way, I could give some situations that accrued in my life meaning. I continuously questioned my position on this topic by travelling physically and spiritually from east to west and vice versa. By translating my experiences and knowledge, I tried to display what it feels like to undergo orientalism today.

How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?

I want to express my appreciation to Artconnect for allowing me to express myself to their audience. For an emerging artist like me, such opportunities play a huge role in future activities. Therefore I want to thank Artconncet for publishing me with the fantastic artist to watch.


Anything else you want to add?

I am always keen to connect with creative people and am interested in new ideas and opportunities. If I caught the attention of someone, feel free to reach out to me.

See more of Gülşah’s work

Website | Instagram | ArtConnect Profile