Dilek Yalcin

UAL  MA Painting 2018-2019

Unit 3 – Presentation Script

 

A MODEST PROPOSAL: LET’S EAT CHILDREN

Amal (Hope)

Arts and journalism and literature are fields which have a symbiotic relationship for ages. As journalists use art to bring stories off the page, artists adopt reporting techniques to address social issues and literature is the bridge that inspires them all.

In my interdisciplinary art study, I wanted to create an art project getting my references from literature and benefiting from my journalistic skills.

I have always been sensitive about t children, rights of children, child labour, physical abuse, and equality in education, which millions of children are lacking due to the social-economic conditions in their countries on which they even have no words, impact or power.

All around the world children are facing many drastic situations; however in Yemen they are facing almost all of these problems along with malnutrition and starvation.

It all started with the image of Amal, the Yemeni child at the age of 7, that soon the mainstream media turned an eye to the situation of children in Yemen.

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Amal Hussain, who died at age 7. “My heart is broken,” her mother said.Credit:Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

She looked so naïve and fragile, all skin and bone. And one day after this release of the photo she died of malnutrition.

 

Amal Hussein, 7, whose name means "hope" in Arabic, is weighed at a Yemeni health centre in August. Credit: AP File Photo/Hammadi Issa

This is another picture of Amal, whose name means  hope, which inspired my sculpture. This is an interesting method that children are weighed in these plastic washbowls as if they are not human but 2 kg of fruit or meat. Because you cannot even carry or touch them. It may hurt them; although they look they don’t feel anything anymore. However it is evident that they are so close to death.

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Amal sketches                                     Armature for the sculpture        Amal(Hope)                                       

 

 

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The procedure of making the sculpture was such an interesting experience as well.  It made feel and understand Amal and other children and even their parents much much better.

So, all these footage triggered my desire to do something for these children through an art project. Maybe It would not save them all, but I had some powerful tools like art and journalism. Art would help me to depict the situation in a way that could attract attention to these children and arouse emotion and empathy in people, and journalism would help me to investigate the subject, find people, and make interviews and documentation of the process.

During my search of similar cases the world history to see how literature for example handled that situation, I remembered from English literature that we studied at university Jonathan Swifth`s article on the Potato Famine in Ireland in 19th cc. It was titled “A modest Proposal: Let`s eat children  For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public.”

And I decided to name my complete project as such and refer to the idea of “eating children.”

In the article which was written in a harshly satirical genre, Swifth suggests the Irish government and families to use children in food business so that they will be useful for both the economy and be a delicious meal option for the rich.

Of course, Swift was neither wishing nor planning it, however people accused him of getting mad and put him into a mental hospital where he died.

Here is a short film that will give you an idea of what Jonathan Swift meant to convey.  And I should confess that it is sometimes difficult to bear the images visualize in your mind.

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Filmed in 2013 by Norvegian University

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yeBWvYBqQc movie

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In order to expand the metaphor and find the relation of it with the modern world and Yemen case, I visited a young academic at Oxford University, Ayse Gur Geden. She said, in today’s capital and digital world system, more than metaphorically, we literally eat children.

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Ayse Gurgen Geden’s interview, April 22,2019/Oxford

Eng Lang.Litr BA-Sociology st.Ph.D.

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How I Met  the Gingerbread Man

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As one part of my whole project, I decided to make an installation of gingerbread man cookies.

I picked this image after a personal experience I had. I witnessed a girl asking for these cookies from her mom and the idea came to my mind that a 7 year old kid like Amal should not be starving but asking simply for a gingerbread man cookie. This must be her the one and only concern about life.

And started to think about how I could make art out of this figure and I wanted to make an installation which I believe is a way of revealing an artist’s thoughts and imagination in a more conceptual way with a relatively politic stand. The idea of cookie was also in accordance with my general view that I should be reflecting something political in an artistic way, not something artistic in a political way. 

And the idea of cookie making came out.

Cookie Making Event

I collaborated with Yunus Emre Instıtute and Grenfell Kitchen community Hubb women who were very helpful and very sensitive about children and the subject in Yemen.

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Poster for ARTOPIA’s first project launch

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Yunus Emre Institute and Grenfell Kitchen Volunteers- May 1, 2019-London

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Abdurrahman Sayed- CEO of Al Manaar MCHC               1500 Cookies making Event / May 1, 2019

 

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And in the following weeks, I will take them to Yemen, paint them with children there and bring it back to London an install in the City Hall with a documentary: To be a Child in the Forgotten Land.

I will be telling the story from the eyes of a Yemeni child. I will mentor her to be a reporter and she will report everything from the very first hand.

I also talked to the Ambassador of Yemen about the situation of children but it was off the record.  The most surprising thing he said was the reason why children were suffering from malnutrition was mainly because most regions were under the siege of the terrorist groups Hauthis and they were not letting humanitarian aid into the region.  This was the most upsetting thing for me. Because it meant even if we send them some humanitarian aid with the donation of this project,  they would not be able to receive it. 

 

And ARTOPIA –Arts for Global Goodness Platform

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Arts for Global Goodness Logo -2019

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The idea of having an army of artists to help the solution of global issues has been a utopic idea in my heart for a couple of years. And I thought we can make it happen in London with the artists sharing the same feelings with me, those who believe in the power of art to make a change in the world.

Like Tanya Bruguera, an activist and artist known for her installation for Syrian refugees. She uses the term arte util (useful art) that is similar to my idea of a world in which art is useful and benevolent.

 

Tanya Bruguera, HyundaiCommission Turbine Hall,2018 at Tate Modern

Jonathan Darby whose main subject matter and concern is also children, tries to help them through a kind of journalistic painting.

      

Jonathan Darby- Jonathan Darby, Roney                  Jonathan Darby, Dudu,2011

Molly Crabapple who describes herself as journalist, author and artist and worried about wars and children’s’ traumas.

       

Molly Crabapple, War in Syria

The name “Artopia” is inspired from another British author and statesman of 16cc Thomas More’s “Utopia”.  

    

Sir Thomas More after Hans Holbein the Younger oil on panel, early 17th century, based on a work of 1527 29 1/2 in. x 23 in. (749 mm x 584 mm) -National Portrait Gallery

Utopia basically describes an ideal world where there is abundance of peace, harmony and friendship. Thomas More frequently underlines the main motive for this harmonious order is arts. Because people have quality leisure time and get busy with arts and crafts in the meantime.Likewisely, Artopia believe art is a strong instrument that can heal people, unite people from all walks of life and gives hope to them.

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Reflections on my Paintings-Surrealism

Finally, here are the reflections of my interdisciplinary project and ideas on my paintings. I am inspired from Surrialism and Rene Magritte. My works can be considered as a tribute to Magritte and an appropriation of his works. My paintings are basically a critique to modernity and his ignorance of the reality.

 

                              

“Dear Cutter,Don’t Cut Me”  oil on canvas  120*100  “Like A candle in the Wind” oil on canvas 30*40

                           

“Bleeding ” oil on canvas 30*40                                   screen print study

   

“It is Raining Hope in Aeden” oil on canvas 120*120     “Turning a Blind Eye” oil on canvas 120 *80                                                                                  

 

In a nutshell, throughout my project I wanted to discover the transitivity between arts and journalism. Literature and authors I mentioned were great inspirations.

And I came to a conclusion that both art and journalism are such immense fields that the search and cooperation between them is limitless.

My project also demonstrated (to me) that once you hit the road and believe that you can make it,

And yes. ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE.