Classic Turkish films revived with art of ebru


TÜRVAK Cinema and Theater Museum is hosting ebru artist Seçil Özyıldırım's solo exhibition "Yeşilçam and Ebru Art" featuring posters of classic Turkish films made with traditional arts such as paper marbling, miniatures, and calligraphy until the end of this year.Curated by Vadullah Taş who conducts researches and writes books on Turkish cinema, the exhibition displays original and artistic interpretations of the posters of 41 Turkish productions including cult films such as "Leyla ile Mecnun" (Leyla and Mecnun), "Hababam Sınıfı" (The Chaos Class), "Umut" (Hope), "Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım" (The Girl with the Red Scarf), "Susuz Yaz" (Dry Summer)," Üç Arkadaş" (Three Friends), "Otobüs Yolcuları" (Bus Passenger), "Kırık Çanaklar" (The Broken Pots), "Yol" (Road) and "Muhsin Bey" (Mr. Muhsin).Seçil Özyıldırım expresses her passion for the art of ebru, which started when she saw a small-sized ebru painting featuring a tulip at an auction in London as: "The art of ebru allows you to produce only a single copy of a work. You can never produce the same work again. You cannot hide mistakes, cannot repeat or turn back from what you have done. This special characteristic and uniqueness of the art of ebru amazes me. But to tell the truth if you are in a bad mood or nervous, you cannot start working. In such a situation, the tray, literally, does not accept you. It is a little capricious; you have to be calm and patient. Ebru is a graceful and naïve art." According to Özyıldırım, her encounter with Taş, the curator and advisor of the exhibition, was fate. The artist met Taş while she was still working on the film posters and trying to add traditional aesthetic values to her work. She believes that using traditional artistic techniques on classic film posters puts emphasis on the characteristics of the films. Özyıldırım prefers to remain faithful to the original film posters. While creating her work, she was inspired from the plot of the film as well as the meanings evoked by the title.