Defne Aksoy (b. 1999) is a multidisciplinary artist from İzmir, Turkey. Through metalwork, painting, poetry, and video, they explore questions surrounding the nature of self, consciousness, and the ways in which we are interconnected with others, from living organisms to inert matter, and to the universe as a whole. Defne received her BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2023. She is currently living and working in Baltimore, Maryland.
I am interested in the intricate systems that govern the body and the universe; the forces that order all of us, but those we are habitually imperceptive to.
When I am welding, I am thinking about iron’s desire to rust, inhaling oxygen as I do. I am thinking about the iron in my blood, carrying oxygen through my body. When I am felting, I am thinking about the wool fibers reaching, yearning for each other. I am thinking about the fragility of our perception and our fleeting grasp on reality; how attached we are to the maintenance of our fixed “truth” that doesn’t accommodate the inherent complexity of the world. These conditions can produce violence in humans. Materials, on the other hand, don't cling to their branded identity. They surrender to transformation. The wool is not attached to its self. With gentle coercion, it becomes another material. There is beauty in giving up your own properties to become another truth.
I make art to embrace these entanglements. My sculptures are usually in the middle of a transformative process, decaying or flourishing, as change remains constant. With my work, I hope to spark a sense of wonder and curiosity, and seek to challenge Western notions of power, individuality, and hierarchy; promoting a deeper understanding of the ways in which we are all interconnected.