Tell us a bit about the creation process of your works. How does this process works for Sait Mingü?
Creative process is different for each artist, however mine has never been a process which begins when it’s time to work and ends when a show is ready. I have a strong visual memory. The brain records everything it reads, watches, hears – collecting them all and then forgetting them. I work with the bits and pieces that remain in memory, and call the end result a “painting”. My work is based on observation; stories are developed during the painting process. And when you, the viewers, look at the works, you come up with your own stories. In order to feed this process, to keep it alive, I try to show up at my studio regularly and keep myself disciplined.
Denizanası Üzerine Bir Tartışma / A Converstaion about A Jellyfish // C-Print Diasek Mount // 180×59 cm // 2016
How does your technique serve the semantic content of your work?
I’m a figurative-expressionist painter. My current technique is the result of my attempt to make figurative painting more contemporary, after having worked with classical techniques for many years. As I make sketches or plan a work, I also think about the materials I will be using. By utilizing digital technique for images for which I think painting with acrylic or watercolors would be limiting, I get access to a free playground with infinite possibilities. Having infinite possibilities can also be scary if you’re not clear about your goals, because you might get lost before you get to finish the work.
What was the starting point for the works in your most recent show “Living Creatures”?
Human and nature. The theme of city-human-nature, on which some of my previous works were also based, has been the starting point for this show. The unity in the visual language of works –which I’ve created using more layers and elements– is established by both the materials I used and the contrast and surreal moods the works encapsulate.
