“I’m inspired by mythology, the Italian renaissance and poetry,” she says. “Basically – beauty. And that could be Dolly Parton or Aubrey Beardsley.” Marrying inspiration to fabrication, Yasemen’s work is an adventure between muse and material.
“The common thread in all my work is beauty, it’s simply powers everything I make, I see something I like, and then I hone in on what detail grabs my attention.
From this I am driven by the uncomplicated desire to celebrate what’s triggered my senses by making a physical created object.
I try not to control every step of making work; it’s truly an adventure between the muse and the materials.
A cliché perhaps, however beauty is relative in this world.
Inspiration, the fuel and the subsequent celebration for me comes primarily from my reverence to nature but also daily adventures in mythology, fashion and to be fair others people art, mostly historical and occasionally contemporary.
I introduce myself as “bespoke sculptor designer maker” using mixed media, predominantly metal and concrete, embracing my old school welding, working with a select few battered but much loved tools and a prized yellow concrete mixer.
I use copper wire a lot simply because I love the colour and it does what it’s told easily, like a pencil line that can bend into 3D, soldering it is like melting butter and very satisfying.
I’m not chained to familiar materials, it’s just what I’ve grown used to in the past and what’s at hand in my studio, adding new materials into the mix is always a welcome challenge for me.
My work so far has included sculpture, furniture, jewellery and lighting for a range of very eclectic private and commercial clients worldwide.
Some see my work as purely decorative, others connect to spirit, to nostalgia or sensory reaction. How my work is categorised doesn’t influence why I make what I make.
Being able to create is simply a need in me. In my studio, music blasting, in the act of creating makes me conscious of how good it feels to be connected to all my senses.
The secret joy is that every time I finish a piece it’s a genuine surprise to me. “
