Blue Abstraction no 34 (2021) Painting by Yağmur Turan

Yağmur Turan was born in 1991 in İzmir, Türkiye. She graduated from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University between 2009 and 2013. From 2013 to 2016, she completed her Master’s degree in the Art and Design Department at the Faculty of Art and Design at the same university with a thesis titled “Abstract Geometric Approaches in Turkish Painting.”
Her works are featured in numerous private and corporate collections. She has participated in over 30 group exhibitions and held 4 solo exhibitions. She continues her artistic practice in her studio located in Alsancak, İzmir.

Why does Yağmur Turan incorporate text into her paintings?
After the Dadaist slogan “Art is dead, long live art,” in 2012, I began my Efemera series with the statement, “If this is art, what I’m doing is nothing.” The first painting of the series was titled “Nothing.”

When I started my Efemera collection in 2012, I aimed to bring my collection into my paintings by using mixed media on canvas. Over the years, I transitioned from incorporating magazines and newspapers into my works to focusing solely on acrylic paintings on canvas. My exploration of the psychology of colors and words led me to employ abstract backgrounds and bold fonts.

Psychological experiments on the effects of words on human psychology have shown that words can be used to guide individuals toward a particular direction. As a result, the subconscious mind fulfills its task and follows that path. Instead of influencing individuals’ subconscious with ambiguous or uncertain words, I chose to channel this knowledge positively, using words to inspire, energize, and empower. Thus, motivational and uplifting mottos have become an integral part of my paintings.

For example, a motto like “Never Give Up!” might seem empowering at first glance. However, the brain focuses on the word “Never,” interpreting it as failure, which subconsciously creates a constant sense of struggle and pressure to succeed. I tested this myself with one of my favorite works—a 150x150 cm painting titled “Never Give Up”—which hung in my office. Spending hours each day with this motto, I realized during that time that both my professional and personal life revolved around constant effort and struggle. This observation confirmed the psychological findings, and I completely removed negative words from my paintings.

Currently, I continue to develop my series under the titles Efemera, Efemera-Quotes, Efemera-Stickers, and Efemera-2.

• Nationality: TÜRKIYE
• Date of birth : 1991
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Turkish Artists

The Artist was highlighted in an article in ArtMajeur Magazine:

Yağmur Turan: Psychology deeply influences my art