- Venue
- Waterloo Gallery
- Location
- London
This is the second exhibition staged by Ahmet within the space of a year at the Waterloo Gallery, and the range and depth of work by this prolific artist is astonishing. The exhibition benefits from the specific theme of the shadow, and is a landmark showing of this rising artists’ thoughtful and inspiring work.
His work has always been about the personal, and has always spoken to the viewer of our own experiences, our own shadows that we emerge out of, and of the experiences waiting in the shadows for us. From the stillness of works such as Blind Spot, to the movement and flow of Dark Light, Ahmet archives his personal experience and emotions, and uses his body to mould, shape and make sense of the duality of life, the light and the shadow. His work is specific in its detail and construction, and in its minimal use of colour, but interestingly there is more fragmentation present here, reflecting perhaps the struggles he has come through. Although print work makes up the majority of the show there are exquisite self-portraits in oils, (Veneer I, II and III), and masks moulded from beeswax, fragile and as tender as the skull beneath them.
The show marks a turning point for Ahmet. The work reflects the long shadow cast over his development up until now, and he is clearly signalling his desire to move on, to develop a new direction and to step out of his own creative shadow. Yet this show does not mourn this period, it celebrates the past and the creative process, and his work remains highly accessible and relevant to the viewer. I am among many of those viewers already looking forward to the next period.