Featured Artist: Selcuk Colakoglu: Ground Floor Gallery

A Print Studio is a Womb

The title of the show was taken from an artwork which the artist made for the make:connections project at Glasgow Print Studio. During the Covid-19 pandemic, artists were invited to take part in an art postal exchange aimed at sustaining (or creating new) connections between the studio members and staff.

With the studio closed, and with no access to the facilities, Selcuk reflected upon what the space meant to him, and what it might mean for others. The metaphor of a womb seemed fitting as a print studio can be a place of creation, nourishment and growth.

This idea then became the starting point for a new body of work exploring themes of arrival, departure, transition and memory.

Colakoglu often incorporates materials used in printmaking into the work itself; such as the polyester mesh and screenprint emulsion that is used in the larger pieces. Rather than focusing solely on print editions, he recognises the importance of these materials (and their function), thus highlighting their value and potential.

The work often starts as intuitive screenshots taken on his phone or laptop from a range of media sources. These images are then edited digitally to a point of near-abstraction and the resulting pictures are finally put through the printmaking process, completing the work.

Selcuk Colakoglu was born and raised in Glasgow. He joined Glasgow Print Studio upon graduating from his BA (Hons) Media in 2015 and has been a member since. He completed an internship at Stills Gallery in Edinburgh and then went on to work in television production at BBC Scotland in Glasgow. In 2021, he received a postgraduate scholarship from the Glasgow School of Art where he is currently studying to complete his Masters degree in Fine Art (printmaking).

Upcoming exhibitions include; The GSA Postgraduate Degree Show, a solo exhibition at Lunchtime Gallery and a group show with Glasgow Print Studio at Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum for the 'Here and Now' 50th anniversary exhibition at the end of the year.

Selcuk would like to dedicate this exhibition to his late Mother, Jeanette (Amina) Hamill.