ELVAN ERDİN

I grew up in İstanbul, born in Turkey to parents of Circassion and Bulgarian/Turkish decent. In 1980 I moved to Britain to study fine art. Having lived between London and İstanbul ever since, I’ve gradually found myself assuming the position of a constant ‘outsider’ where ever I may be. This personal sense of displacement has always been the driving force behind my work with the margins of modern society fuelling my inspiration. Ancient cultures, tribal groups, homeless people, harsh textures of nature are some of the subject matter I am drawn to work with. To me, the act of creativity has always been the searching ground for the concepts of home and belonging. Regardless of the tools at hand, the ideas and sentiment  I aspire to convey through my work essentially share the same roots. I am an intuitive artist who follows an experimental approach during creative processes and always enjoys breaking boundaries. What ever the technique or medium I use, I am drawn to a simple pallet hence I customarily work with neutral colours. I feel working in this way helps the viewer entre the image and  explore it’s meaning beyond the surface.

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Awards: 2nd price in ’İstanbul Hiçbirimizin’ Photography Competition , İstanbul. (2005)
Shortlisted for ‘Royal Academy summer show’, London. (2008)