The Manifest

IREM KUCUKAY WAS BORN IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY IN 1983. SHE STUDIED HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT AND WORKED FOR DIFFERENT COMPANIES IN ISTANBUL, NEW YORK, LONDON AND LAS VEGAS MEANWHILE CONTINUING TO PURSUE HER PASSION OF PAINTING FOR ALL THESE YEARS. LIVING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND SYNTHESISING HERSELF WITH DIFFERENT CULTURES FOR SO MANY YEARS,HELPED TO DEVELOP HER OWN CREATIVITY. SHE NOW LIVES IN ISTANBUL AND KEEPS ON EXPRESSING HER OWN MELANCHOLIC WORLD THROUGH THE COLOURS. COLOR ITSELF HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED HER AND HAS FORMED THE BASIS OF ALL HER WORK STARTING WITH EXPRESSIONISM. SHE IS INTERESTED IN CREATING AN IMAGINARY SPACE THAT FEELS FAMILIAR BUT IS MORE AMBIGUOUS, CHAOTIC AND ABSTRACTED. IN HER ARTSY WORLD, SHE LIKES TO SEE INDECISIVE PLAINS DANCING WITH THE SHAPES TO INTERSECT, OVERLAP, PILE UP AND ULTIMATELY CREATE A SENSE OF VISUAL DISTANCE AND DEPTH THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY IN THE MOST COMPLEX WAY. HER PROCESS INVOLVES BACK AND FORTH PLAY BETWEEN SPONTANEOUS MARK-MAKING AND A CAREFUL DELIBERATION. “I LOVE PAINTING BECAUSE THE ACT OF MANIPULATING COLOURS ON A CANVAS IS AN INTRIGUING PROCESS FOR ME AND I LIKE TO SEE HOW THE WHOLE WORK PERFECTLY MATCHED MY THOUGHTS ABOUT EXISTING IN A DIFFERENT DIMENSION” SHE SAYS.