Damla Özdemir

Feed Me, 2014, wood and fine art print, 130 x 80 x 6 cm

To be honest, I produced this work after hearing the statement, “A woman should not laugh out loud in public,” in parliament. Although we have grown up within a patriarchal culture, speaking on behalf of others and believing oneself entitled to do so has always both frightened and emboldened me. “Feed Me, Besle Beni” is a work through which I sought to address the assumption that decision-making authority belongs to men. At the same time, it also speaks of women who have become accustomed to this system, grown complacent in defending their freedom, and lost their individual voices.

In this work, which I produced using a three-dimensional collage technique, I used wood as the base material. I chose wood because it is solid, strong, and capable of being shaped. As can be seen throughout much of my practice, I try to bring layers of wood together according to the internal logic of each work. Measuring 130 × 90 cm, “Feed Me, Besle Beni” was conceived as a work that would break away from the rectangular background and be shaped by the female figures that compose it. For this reason, I cut the work out completely, allowing it to merge with the surface on which it is displayed and, in a sense, become “free.”

By constructing my works in layers, I aim to encourage the viewer to move from a passive position towards a more active mode of engagement. I believe that the cut-out, three-dimensional structure of “Feed Me” further reinforces this intention.