Artist Interview: Yağmur Güzle

Aug 3

Written By DAB

Yağmur Güzle is a collage artist based in Istanbul, Turkey. She creates analog as well as digital collages to process the flow of life via the dialogue between found images. She is also the co-founder of Istanbul Collage Lab, a collage collective for artists and creatives alike.

We asked Yağmur about her art, creative process, and inspirations.

Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?

I started as an analog collage artist; I have been making analog collages since 2017. My adventure in digital collage started two years ago when I felt stuck manipulating analogue images. I started manipulating the images I cut out of magazines in Photoshop. Especially for album covers and special works, I make use of digital possibilities.

What inspires your art? Are there any particular themes or subjects that you enjoy exploring through your artwork?

Collage is a very limitless and free medium. I liken it to the flow of life, where all incompatibilities create harmony and draw you in. I usually work on emotions; collage is a form of expression. Reading collage works nourishes and inspires me a lot.

What does your creative process look like? How do you approach brainstorming and conceptualizing ideas?

Usually, the visuals shape me. I surrender myself to the materials and start brainstorming by establishing a dialogue with the images. The conceptuality emerges afterward. The creative process definitely depends on the dialogue you establish with the materials in collage. Even if production is made according to a certain conceptual framework, I still create a composition by shaping it according to the visuals. And this is a situation that feeds me a lot, and I love it.

Can you tell us a little about Istanbul Collage Lab?

Istanbul Collage Lab is a collage collective I founded in January 2023 with a friend of mine who also makes collages. We organize collage events where everyone who creates digital or analogue collages comes together, forming a collective production space. Here, many artists unite through the same medium, sharing their creative processes and producing together. Similarly, we also actively participate in this exchange.

This collective production creates a unique and special sharing space, which undoubtedly fosters the development of artists and allows them to view things from different angles. Engaging as two collage artists with a common goal has propelled my art to a whole new level. Receiving feedback, engaging in discussions about artworks, and sharing ideas have opened new windows of opportunity for me.

I believe that producing and collaborating with different artists is a highly enriching experience, and I will always remain open to such opportunities.

Can you share an example of a challenging project you've worked on recently? What were the obstacles you encountered, and how did you overcome them?

I was asked to collaborate on a music video project which has a very beautiful and special story. It was something I had never done before, but I said I could do it very willingly. I was very excited and very nervous at the same time, because it was something I had never done before. I made and prepared all the visuals of the clip as a collage, and this process was very difficult for me. Because I have always collaged very freely until the music video, and this time I was given a story to tell. After I was done preparing the collages, I didn't have the slightest idea about how to animate it. My friend Barış, who edited the clip, and I overcame all the challenges through trial and error. We learned new programs and developed new methods on our own. We both learned a lot, and in the end, we made it.