Somaye Chahartakab

Insights

I believe that if I know the final image, it does not deserve to be created. I start working unconsciously, but I am aware of this way and state of mind. That is, I free my mind voluntarily and forget everything I think I know. The beginning of the work is completely intuitive and as the work progresses, this state becomes deeper and more challenging. In fact, I embrace the unconscious and allow my intuition to guide me in the early stages and the work is gradually discovered through the act of painting with a personal way of expression and vision. These help creativity find a unique depth. Obviously, in this process, the work is not just a representation of a predetermined idea, but a dynamic exploration of my inner world and outer environment. This process-oriented approach often results in works of art that have a deeply personal essence. Regarding the effect of this method on the sensory concept of my works, I can say that this method not only makes the works too personal, but also universal and oriented towards humans as a general concept. I mean, I don’t paint to express my pain, joy, memories, dreams and so on. They are part of my being, but painting leads me to something deeper and freer than myself.I don’t deny my inner and mental motivations for starting work, but during and continuing the work process, I try not to form a specific image in my mind. I want a kind of live stream that happens in a completely logical framework without purposeful decision making. It’s as if after each painting, in a difficult and sweet transformation, I become wiser, braver, more sensitive and grounded. This shows the transformative power of art. The integration of the personal and the universal in painting creates a deep and eternal connection.This dive into the depths of creativity is actually a journey of self-discovery and constant revision.This is where every act of creation becomes a manifestation of wisdom, courage and sensitivity. This evolution is intense and difficult and adds a rich and complex layer to the work.

Basically, how art can simultaneously be an act of letting go and gaining insight is an amazing thing for me. How to balance this intense emotional experience with the technical aspects of painting is an important challenge. I always start with an explosion of colors to release and absorb their energy. Then, by adding the energy of the lines to the colored surfaces, I apply another energy shock. Now I am facing a scene full of rhythm and energy. As I mentioned,I have no definite image in mind, So I allow myself to move forward with this ups and downs scene and let my inner enthusiasm slowly shows itself on the canvas. This new visualization level leads me to a new inner world which is still unknown to me. I love this ambiguity in my work, and this thirst for discovering the unknown keeps me motivated to continue working. This process of creating an energetic scene of colors and lines reflects the spontaneity and passion that drives the work. The absence of a predetermined image allows the rhythm and energy of the scene to drive the creative process, resulting in a mental world that surprises even myself.

I think that an artist is a traveler on the road of art and in this way the artist is an explorer of the unknowns, feelings, thoughts, places, people and things and existence in general. This specific point of view adds a sense of adventure and exploration to my artistic journey. In fact, I am always faced with a kind of ambiguity that the desire to discover and decipher makes the canvas of possibilities endless.The nature of my painting is transformation and discovery. But in such a dynamic and exploratory process, how is the end and completion of the work determined? Is there a specific moment or feeling that marks the completion of the work? Well, although I don’t start with any predetermined image or story, but finally, my works have a narrative theme and these narratives are not clear and simple. They are symbolic and layered. Forms, lines, rhythm, colors all make a coherent whole that tells a story together. There are no elements to fill the space, but each one tells a part of the story. But the important thing for me is that the story keeps me on track. When all the unknown factors of that visual text are known, I lose my desire to continue the work and that is the end of the work. But for me, painting is a living creature that calls me again most of the time and demands my passion. This is where I eagerly change the work so that the unknown can be raised again.I think the idea that the story should involves me and that the completion of the work coincides with the moment when the unknown is known will provide a powerful insight. My goal with this kind of approach to narrative, symbolism and expression is to add a layer of depth and complexity to my works. I try to bring together the elements of form, line and color to create a coherent storyteller unit. I want to keep in touch with my inner creativity.So when the work calls me to explore further, it actually highlights the dynamic and evolving nature of the artistic practice. It is a fascinating combination of intuition, discovery and a constant dance with the unknown

You know, everybody must ultimately dare to pause and ask themselves why they are living.They are obligated to seek out and find a way to answer this question. When someone chooses art as their means of expression for contemplation and existence, they have undoubtedly reached a point in their personal growth where profound questions have arisen in their mind, driving them to seek answers.The defining characteristic of an artist is their insatiable curiosity. For me personally, the question was why I paint. In the realm of art (specifically painting), one must be brave, clear, and honest in a dignified manner – it is a necessity. When I honestly and courageously answered this question, I discovered that there is something within me that aligns with my mental, spiritual, and material reality as well as the pains of life. Painting serves as my means of elucidating suffering.
Upon completing a piece and beholding the final image that is uniquely and strangely my own creation, I may come to the simple realization that pain is not necessarily a negative thing. It is natural, human, and can serve as a wellspring of inspiration and motivation to persevere. While painting, I find myself fully immersed in both my inner self and the tribulations of life – welcoming them with open arms.This confrontation proves to be highly constructive, unveiling existential dimensions that leave me awestruck. Art allows me to communicate my desires through my aesthetic sensibilities, giving substance to my innermost feelings and imbuing solitude with meaning. This moment of awareness is truly profound. Gradually, I came to understand that my work revolves around seeking truth, nurturing curiosity, and crafting a new world of quality.
To reach this stage requires scrutinizing and challenging one’s mindset, thoughts, and ideas, a daunting task that necessitates setting aside deeply ingrained beliefs. It became apparent that I needed to cultivate a deliberate forgetfulness during this process in order to avoid becoming ensnared by personal biases.
It seems that some artists fall into the trap of fixating on specific aspects of their psyche – memories, sorrows, pains – mistaking them for original thoughts or mental spaces. To be released from these habits requires courage and an unyielding spirit of inquiry without judgment.
In order for creation and expression to flourish, we must transition from personal curiosity towards a more diverse form of inquiry. Embracing skepticism and uncertainty while navigating between dreams and reality allows for gradual discovery.

While it is true that artists filter the outside world through their inner lens to create new meanings within their work; I believe there exists another connection, it is the painter who passes through the filter of painting itself. Through the window of artistry they observe both external surroundings and internal emotions before translating them onto canvas.The painter acts as a small light granted permission through a narrow window into the realm of painting; once inside this vast expanse they merge with its brilliance until their individual light becomes indistinguishable from its radiance.

Every time I am working, it feels as though the painting envelops me, immersing me in its colors, lines, and energy, transforming me into a new being. Each artist has their own unique creative process guided by their individual understanding and intuition.

Stone

The relationship between humans and stone is very ancient and close, to the point that a period in human history has been named the Stone Age. He used Stone to work and defence. He obtained fire by striking two stones together. It was his shelter, home, and even his tomb after death. Early humans took refuge in caves and recorded their ritual ceremonies on them. Man has come along with stones. He carved and worshiped his idols from them. Stones have been sacred to him, assuming a lofty spiritual essence in them, such as the Kaaba or the Black Stone of Pessinus in veneration of the goddess Cybele. In my opinion, this contradictory state of material/spiritual nature has made them very meaningful. To me, stones refer to materiality and earthiness. They represent authenticity, material aspect, and tangible existence. In my work, stones signify this same real, tangible, and concrete aspect of life. They refer to earth because the earth is a large stone, and we live on a large stone.

Fish

Paul Klee mentioned in his memoirs that his paintings were like dreams flowing beneath the waking surface of life. Dreams that could be plucked out from the background like his golden fish (referring to the Goldfish by Klee) and shine with the light of a very ancient world. The fish reminds us how far we are from our ancient and unconscious world, and maybe when we find the lost treasure in the mouth or in the belly of the fish we catch from the water in the legends, it refers to the same loss of connection with the treasure inside us. For me, fish is a symbol of the unconscious. It is a sign of the artist’s power to dive deep into the inner ocean, and I wait patiently and eagerly to catch it like a fishing rod. The bigger the fish, the more fun the catch.

Paul Klee writes in a poem, “From the uncertain something shines not from here, not from me, but from God”

Stars

Everybody, even for a brief moment, have looked up at the sky and gazed at the stars. They have chosen a star for themselves and their loved ones and entrusted their wishes and prayers to them. They have sought connections with the stars and planets to know their fate and future.They have connected the stars to find familiar patterns. With the help of them, the lost ones have found their way. poeple have even searched for their departed souls in them. An intriguing fact about stars for me is that many of them which are seen in the sky have been gone for years, yet they still shine in the sky. This evokes a sense of immortality for me, that you can leave a mark over time and remain eternal and shining. Stars symbolize infinity, wishes, and feelings that are constantly burning within us.

Trees

In myths, sometimes a person turns into a tree, and the sigh of the tree and his resinous tears remain both in the tree and in the person, and tell about the stability, being trapped and belonging. The tree shows us how to grow from a small potential seed into an actual being. Maybe that’s why we want a tree or a shrub to be planted on our graves. Maybe we are looking for rebirth and the tree brings this hope to life in us. Sometimes we even plant a tree in memory of someone we have lost.

Crow

I had different animals since childhood: lizard, sparrow, pigeon, falcon and among them two crows, a crow with colorful feathers and a few years ago I was taking care of a wounded black crow. When I was 16-17 years old I read a novel. Now neither the name of the book nor its author is in my mind.The story is not exactly remembered either, but in general it was about a boy who found a white crow and became friends. When that crow with colorful feathers came to our house, I had a strange feeling. I felt that the crow of the story had came to me. The crow always gives me the feeling that a human being lives inside it. The crow and generally the birds are like acquaintances in my works who are placed next to the person in the scene to reassure him/her that ” You are not alone.”

eclipse

In various cultures, there have been different beliefs about eclipses. It was thought that a solar eclipse was actually the sun being wounded or swallowed by a snake, demon, or cosmic dragon, which are the same forces of darkness and evil. Some saw the eclipse as a pursuit and sexual relationship between divine siblings, or as the descent of the sun goddess to the moon spring, or as the male being surrounded by the female, such as Osiris by Isis, Christ by the Virgin Mary. Eclipses were associated with negative energies and events such as the end of the world, savior’s death, end of heat and life, earthquakes, plagues, and so on. I am fascinated by that thin bright halo around the sun during an eclipse. The sun in an eclipse is no longer the sun. Suddenly that fiery unreachable star becomes accessible and visible. The eclipse, in my opinion, is a moment that de-exaltizes and defamiliarizes the sun. Suddenly the source of light turns into a black hole, an empty void. It’s as if a hole is created instead of the sun and it wants to swallow everything from now on.

Flowers

Flowers are the hallmark of spring. There is no surer sign of renewal in the world, of awakening and rebirth. Flowers played the same role in my artistic journey. For the first time in a cafe, I experienced the joy of painting by painting flowers. It was like riding a rocket at an insane speed into another level of existence. The magical moment of throwing to another level of understanding painting. Painting through flowers awakened a sense of pleasure in me. I consider myself indebted to flowers. That’s why flowers are one of my constant elements. When I draw flowers, only that energizing release of colors and lines is important to me. It is very picturesque. The narrative is removed and it gives a kind of feeling of release from all human bonds

Mixed media on canvas, 13×18cm, 2020

When i was a child, images of missing people were broadcast on television and I constantly wondered where they are now. In general, images of people always attracted me mentally. I experienced the same feeling about missing people again in the pictures of deceased people in obituaries. Which picture, is the one that will be printed in our obituary after our death? Perhaps part of my inspiration and inner compulsion to make portraits is rooted in this subject. I mostly look at people in silence and listen to them like a careful and detail-oriented observer. Generally, I do not have extensive interaction withpoeple. I establish very selective and limited relationships and portraits have the function of examining people for me. Sometimes I think that maybe they are actually the portraits of people from my previous familiar lives.

**Mixed media on canvas, 120*100 cm, 2023**

I created a layered world in this painting, where each visual element adds a layer to the previous one. I prefer to not completely cover the layers and show them in a way that reveals the underlying layer. This way of expression creates a sense of depth and meaning that immerses me in that space and keeps me curious, and then the viewer. In most cases, my works consist of a single figure and are related to other meaningful elements such as animals, objects, flowers, spaces, etc., all of which are a part of myself as a single human being and, in fact, represent the inner self. Only when another human figure is added to the work, it refers to a separate and external part of the persona. Each figure has an independent and separate identity. To put it simply, when I refer to the relationship between humans in works with multiple figures (outward-looking) and in other cases to the relationship between humans and themselves (introspection, intuition). The spiral forms of the whirlwind and the way of hatched surface represented behind the female figure came into this work for the first time. Of course, the hatches were also present in previous works, but in this one, they have entered another visual and meaningful phase. Nature has always been a meaningful part of my life, which has become more mature, intimate, thought-provoking, and meaningful in this work. Secrets are always in the eyes and hearts. The centrality of the secrets of this work is in the eyes of the woman.

**Mixed media on canvas, 120*100 cm, 2023**

From a formalist standpoint, my goal was to make a commanding central subject the focal point, ensuring that every element, not just the large central form, played a role in the composition’s meaning. I sought to avoid having the dominant form hinder the comprehensive view of the painting.The significance of line and drawing was paramount in the initial stages of creating this painting. Departing from my usual practice, I began with direct drawing on the canvas, placing emphasis on the dynamism of lines before introducing color. I aim for my artworks to seamlessly blend the worlds of design and painting, where each holds its unique importance.As mentioned before, all elements in my paintings, excluding figures, come together as a cohesive entity. For instance, the encounter with a white cat on the street transformed into a meaningful form that goes beyond personal identity. It serves as a vehicle to extract evocative aspects, allowing me to transcend my superficial human self. Memories are depersonalized, evolving into forms with significance.Beyond the frame, an event unfolds. The gaze of everyone—the woman, the cat, the mouse-like creature—is directed there. The external focus adds an alluring layer, as if the incident beyond the frame is the subject of the subsequent painting.

Acrylic on paper, 29/8×19/5cm, 2019

The Eclipse series took shape in 2019 after losing my mother. I was constantly involved in a silent turmoil during this period of work. In this series, nature was the best space for me to express this silent turmoil. The landscapes are devoid of humans. The earth is laid out in almost parallel flat layers like geological strata representing the passage of time and characteristics of each period.
Color is very important in these works because I wanted to fill that absence and silence with colors. To convey this concept, I placed color surfaces together in a general way without referring to specific details to create a lively rhythm in filling that silence.The sky is either undergoing an eclipse or filled with stars. An eclipse is facing reality and stars are human souls lost on earth.
Sometimes in this series we encounter a population of trees. Tree ,for me, is a symbol of motherhood, home and shelter.

Mixed media on canvas, 100×100cm, 2023

This work was like removing a veil from my eyes. I wanted to depict a world that was falling apart, but in the midst of destruction, birth and creation were also happening. Life, in my point of view, becomes meaningful by understanding the concept of birth and death.

Mixed media on canvas, 100×100cm, 2023

The prominent point of this work was that I wanted to break time and space and not have the usual objective logic. The spaces are intertwined, the outer and inner space act as a whole unit. In fact, the initial idea came from this feeling that you are sitting in a place with specific coordinates and at a certain time, but your soul and mind are somewhere else and you seem to be a time traveler and you can go wherever and whenever you want. Well, this interweaving of dream and reality is attractive to me because whatever direction this arrow is, it is real for you. In line with this idea and initial feeling, the figure of the woman with that pink mass is related to the growths that have grown on it and at the same time connects with that flexible striped form at the bottom that is transforming from human to bird. The table and the wall have collapsed and the table turns into the floor covering on the surface of the room at the end. The woman is in a trance, as if she has left this world on an inner journey.

Acrylic on canvas, 100×100cm, 2023

I started by sprinkling diluted colors on the canvas and letting the colors blend. How to create the initial color scene is very important. Because in fact, you can use different energy each time according to the way of coloring and choosing a color palette, and each one will lead you to a different world. Due to a lot of work, the process of communicating with my inner world and the world of painting happens early for me. Usually, at the very first moment of painting, the door opens to me and I know which side of this new world I should discover and intuit. This does not mean that I know from the beginning what is going to happen, but it means that I know that I am in the right place and that I am not lost and I start the adventure with pleasure.
In this work, I immediately understood that the main story is the arrival of that little girl with a candle in her hand. Everything in this work welcomes her arrival.

Mixed media on canvas,110×110cm, 2021

The subject of the newborn is a rooted subject in my mind. It goes back to maybe 6-7 years old. At that time, communication with the world was not as easy as it is now. I was fascinated by images and constantly looking for them. I collected labels, pictures and postcards.It happened that I spent hours looking for images, looking for pictures, labels, and anything that had a design on it. It was the era of postcards and I was eager to collect them. It meant getting acquainted with another world for me. I had a box full of postcards, labels and small and large images that I had cut out of magazines and books. I made a magazine for myself and glued the pictures inside it and opened it every once in a while. I watched from the beginning and then started gluing. I was attracted to the postcard paintings of Mary and the newborn Jesus. I copied them with colored pencils. I always knew that painting was something I was very good at without having to work hard to learn it. Now that I look better, I feel that the child who is in my works may come from there. Mary and Jesus in her arms because it was the first image that attracted me with its symbols. Mary was standing on a floating stone in the air while Jesus was in her arms and flowers had grown under her feet. It was a magical picture.

Mixed media on canvas, 180×180cm, 2020

I started by creating an energetic colored scene and allowed myself to be just like a playful child in the moment and the pleasure I get. The large size of the work also helped to strengthen this feeling. The bright colors and diverse color palette also refer to this enjoyment. I remember that after a few hours of enjoying the colors and forms and the ups and downs of the rhythm, the narrative of the work began to emerge with the appearance of the woman’s portrait in the middle of the painting. This painting had many unknowns for me, and this discovery of the unknowns multiplied the pleasure of the work for me. To show the depth of the space of the room and that place, I broke the plans with oblique lines to reduce the logic of the work a little. The smallness of the figures behind the woman in the middle of the frame, Compared to the front plan helps to plan the space.When I am painting, I turn off my mind in self-imposed silence and listen to my heart. That disappearing birthday cake was interpreted in my life a few years later. That is why I have come to believe that you should listen to your heart in painting. The story was formed from the front shot, and slowly every shot was added to the work, as if I was participating more deeply in the ongoing celebration, and finally I jumped out of the window and started running in the vast plain.