SEYLAN KANDAK
Instagram seylankandak
Studio Avenir Barcelona (Travessera de Gracia 217, Barcelona)
Artistic Statement
Seylan Kandak explores the relationship between memory, both personal and collective, and contemporary art as a tool for sharing personal experiences. Kandak seeks to understand how art can serve as a tool for the transmission of memories, whether they are personal or shared by a community. She explores also the blurred line between our personal memories and those that are told or taught to us.
She works with various media, including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, and mosaic, to express these ideas and propose fragmented presentations and installations for their potential to foster dialogue with the public. She also invites the public to participate in her installations, encouraging them to create pieces that contribute to a common memory and a shared archive.
Personal Journey and Educational Background
Born in Istanbul and holding French-Turkish nationality, Seylan Kandak has enriched her artistic formation by exploring various aspects of fine arts and media. After earning a degree in photography, she pursued further training in photography and multimedia at the University of Paris 8. In 2019, she obtained a master's degree in fine arts with honors from the Université de la Sorbonne Paris 1. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in social sustainability and contemporary art at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Kandak resides in Barcelona, where she continues to develop her work in her own studio, Avenir.
Recent Works and Recognition
In 2022, Seylan Kandak's participatory installation, Ephemeral Sculptures, was exhibited at the Can Framis Museum, Vila Casas in Barcelona, during European Museum Night. Her painting, Correction of Randomness, was selected and exhibited in the Centelles de Peinture 2022 painting competition. In 2023, she was invited to showcase her work at the Centre Cívic Cotxeres Borrell in Barcelona for a solo show.