Interview: Selin Su Tütüncü

In conversation with Selin Su Tütüncü from Turkey.

Can you talk about your journey into or interest in the arts?

Thanks to my beautiful mother, my childhood itself was always a journey into art. We were dancing, singing and drawing almost every day. We were sitting under the stars and writing poems on summer nights. Especially in desperate times, art was my best company, art was my lover; it was where I felt a sense of belonging in the universe.

Do you use a sketchbook? I’m interested in what a sketchbook means to you and your work, or how people develop their ideas.

I do use a sketchbook and it means everything to me. Anytime I feel inspired in a street or feel depressed in a lesson, I start sketching. It makes me feel relaxed about developing ideas; I think the best way to do it is just to practise. Also I believe you shouldn’t make a plan before you start working: you should just sense what you need to do while you are doing it. I feel like creation melts through my hands onto paper. I don’t try to control or restrain it, I just let it be as I feel.

What themes are you exploring through your work?

I was raised by a woman who always fights for what she wants and laughs after a tough situation like it doesn’t mean anything. Then I started to become a woman just like her. I believe there is no limitation to what I can or cannot do. All of these shaped me with goddess vibes. I found a silhouette deep down in my soul; a woman who is fallen, not ashamed to show her tears and strong enough to not stay broken. The colour gold represents a treasure she contains in her heart and her being.

Can you talk about your process of working. How do you work, how often, and is there a particular pattern?

Honestly, I work almost every second. Working doesn’t make me feel tired; it gives me a joy that nothing else can. But I feel more inspired at night, especially between 11pm and 3am; everything I sense during the day is stored by my mind and helps me express how I feel at the end of the day.

Do you find the process of creating work relaxing or therapeutic? I’ve become increasingly interested in the relationship of the sketchbook and the work to the artist.

The creative process is really therapeutic. I discover parts of my mind I’ve never used before. I start thinking about life, religion, love, psychology, physics, time, space … I usually lose my mind and recreate it over and over again. I feel everything so deeply. I put all my energy into my work, but the interesting thing is that I feel satisfied and even more energetic after I have finished my project.