“Look, I brought you flowers. I planted the seeds, watered it, and waited for it to sprout. I cared for it until it bloomed a flower which, I believe, is worthy of you. Now, I’m giving it to you. I love you, (love me).”
Is it really that hard to say? When we say this, what do we expect from the other person and what meaning do we impose on it? Or what is it that we really want to hear? The wish to be loved is a quite familiar one that is also a projection of the need to be seen and accepted. The compromises we’ve made of our own accord and the lessons we’ve learned throughout this journey make us who we are.
Once reaching maturity, one copes with this wish to be loved, initially encountered during childhood, in a different way. When we don’t feel safe, we close down our layers and create “interfaces.” We may grow estranged from our feelings in order to believe in this personality we’ve made.
Aylin Zaptçıoğlu’s new exhibition at x-ist “I Love You/Love Me” examines the lower layers of the need to be loved and accepted. Shaped by a variety of materials from ceramic to brass and designed - gradually - as a three-dimensional world by the artist, this world features images related to life and introspection - frequently included in Zaptçıoğlu’s recent works - such as eggs, plants, flowers, and eyes. Animal or human figures, depicted in a way that recently gave birth or while still pregnant, are used as representations of creation while singular figures reveal no dissatisfaction. On the contrary, these characters try to get to know themselves and boast a peaceful solitude in their inner worlds. Their aim is to know themselves well enough to, maybe, love themselves.
Open until May 13, “I Love You/Love Me” investigates a journey that starts with one looking honestly to their inner world and ends accepting existence as a whole.