NEW MATTER
From the Field:
fam° X Grand Matter
Championing meaningful creativity is something that has always been central to our ethos
as an agency, and so we were thrilled to be approached by Istanbul-based artist agency fam° to partner on a collective project and exhibition seeking to foster cross-cultural understanding and empathy through the art of collaborative storytelling.
Funded by the British Council Creative Collaborations Grant, and in partnership with Turkey's Hayata Destek (Support to Life) and the UK's Choose Love, four artists from across the fam° and Grand Matter rosters were commissioned as part of the project to create new artworks visualising real-life stories gathered by the two partner NGOs.
Culminating in an exhibition this month in fam°'s new physical space in Istanbul's Design Museum, the project provides artists from the two countries with the opportunity to exchange stories; fostering the values of inclusion and diversity – particularly for displaced or minority groups.
Below you can read more about the artworks created by Grand Matter's Lena Yokoyama and Vicki Turner, inspired by real stories provided by Support to Life and Choose Love.
'From the Field' runs from 6th-27th April at Istanbul Design Museum.
Lena and Vicki's artworks
in the exhibition space in Istanbul
"
One local Hatay gentleman spoke of life growing back whilst observing plants in his Spring garden. It was this glimmer of energy, pushing through the rubble and loss, that inspired the mono-print brush strokes emerging through the collaged constructions.
– Vicki Turner
A closer look at the outside of Lena's 3D artwork
'A Safe Space for All Berivans' by
Lena Yokoyama
"My piece is inspired by a story from the Empowering Young Girls Program in Viranşehir, Turkey, written by a young female attendee titled ‘Now I am a strong girl who knows what she wants’.
Like other girls on the program, Berivan, is at risk of working as a child labourer or already working. Many of girls mostly live in rural areas, and face difficulties in accessing basic rights and services. Even accessing means of travel to get to school is a privilege that not everyone experiences, while eduction forms such a key component for building a happy future in any of their lives.
My idea for the piece was to create a safe and happy environment for learning, where girls and boys would feel comfortable to play and confident to share and discuss personal stories and vulnerabilities. The right for education, especially for girls, is something that is still not supported enough in many countries and is precisely what I’m trying to encourage with my illustration.
I created this 3D illustration of a fictional classroom in Turkey, based on reference materials I was sent. The scene is fully drawn in coloured pencil and depicts children learning and playing. The individual drawings were scanned and sent from London to Turkey, printed and built at a 60x25cm scale on location in Istanbul."
A closer look at the inside of Lena's 3D artwork
The 2D nets and various elements for Lena's artwork, ready to be printed and constructed as a 3D set.
‘Today & Tomorrow’ by Vicki Turner
"Today & Tomorrow is an installation piece created in response to Gözde Kazaz story ‘Rebuilding Life in Hatay’. In the piece, tent canvas drapes upwards and downwards with Hatay’s grief, whilst plants push through the rubble and loss. As the people of Hatay try to make sense of the destruction, they remain rooted to place, with bricks of home holding down the sides of tents. Energy for life continues through cooking, schooling and cleaning, represented by the hopeful colours amongst the expressive marks of heartache.
It was moving to slowly piece together a collection of 12 collages and 4 paintings whilst thinking of those rebuilding their lives. One local Hatay gentleman spoke of life growing back whilst observing plants in his Spring garden. It was this glimmer of energy, pushing through the rubble and loss, that inspired the mono-print brush strokes emerging through the collaged constructions."
BTS shot of Vicki creating her textural collages
Closer shots of Vicki's textural collages which were then re-printed onto canvas
Lena & Vicki's artworks in situ at the exhibition space
in Istanbul
About Lena Yokoyama
Lena is a Japanese/Austrian illustrator and printmaker based in London. Her optimistic and playful illustrations feature characters of different shapes and sizes, with use of plentiful colour and texture. Working across a broad range of mediums, her clients include The Tate, Community Bridges, Mondo Brewery, The Guardian and Red Bull to name but a few.
About Vicki Turner
Vicki is an illustrator and artist with a passion for the natural world. Graphic flowing shapes and rhythmic forms make up her digital illustrations and hand painted pieces, with a sophisticated use of colour. Her clients include the BBC, The Times, Waitrose and Surfers Against Sewage.
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