Ercan Akin (Turkish, b. 1979)

In his works, Ercan Akin aims to create a new perception by combining plexiglas, an industrial material from the modern world, with oil on canvas, a classic traditional technique. Plexiglas can offer a new texture to the surface, as it can introduce the two dimensionality of a canvas to a new dimension, sometimes creating a different perception of space, as seen in the present work by Akin. Using a figurative language and often opting for the image of a woman, the artist explores the concept of non-identification, alienation, and de-naturalization, underlining and displaying how all of these notions are reflected in living areas. In this work, the artist produced a portrait of a young lady on the canvas with a very detailed and realistic pictorial language. However, he then pushed her in the background of the composition, covering her face with black plexiglas which resembles metal bars, hence hiding her and creating a distance between her and the viewer.