The work of academic and painter Mehmet Özen aims to offer a visual interpretation of poems and songs by portraying the timeless works of poets and composers. The artist claims "the voices that flood the universe assume certain forms and turn into colors by crashing into objects." He paints the symphonies he listens to on his canvas and records videos throughout the painting process to show people the process of turning sound into painting. By combining audio and visual elements together, the exhibition enables the audience to see familiar melodies on canvas and promises a visual interpretation of the music to which we listen. Among the various works featured at the exhibition, some include the 10-meter-long "Mesopotamia Symphony," which was painted during pianist and composer Fazıl Say's live concert, a painting that was painted during Erdal Akkaya's performance of "Anatolian Concerto" with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a painting inspired by Turgut Uyar's "Göğe Bakma Durağın" (Sky Spotting Stop) and a painting inspired by Nazım Hikmet's poem "Masallar Masalı" (The Tale of Tales).
Özen plays with the viewer's perceptions and manages to produce artwork that can be considered interdisciplinary. The artist is also successful at reaching out to audiences by stimulating the senses, which helps strip down the art of painting from its traditional form and assume a more dynamic form, aiming to help the viewer to experience his own journey through his art.
The exhibition can be seen at the Maltepe University Faculty of Fine Arts.
