Crimson Eveningin The Village Painting

I am Semiha Karakuş. My education at Izmir Dokuz Eylül University Buca Faculty of Education Department of Painting and Aydın Doğan Fine Arts High School Painting Department gave me discipline. I worked as a teacher for a while and gave part-time trainings, but my main focus has always been on my own paintings. The education process formed a foundation for me, but developing my own technique was the most important turning point of my painting journey. My art questions the existential tension of the contemporary individual, shaped around themes of identity, migration, and alienation. Rather than representing these subjects directly, I work through indirect and metaphysical metaphors. Spiral-moving birds, empty boats, mirrors, and solitary figures become the carriers of this approach, inviting the viewer to confront both a familiar and profound inner journey. Fog and Light: Chaos and Epiphany The fog that forms the fundamental atmosphere of my works symbolizes, on the one hand, the feeling of loss created by identities and invisible boundaries caught between the past and the future; on the other hand, it symbolizes uncertainty and transition itself. However, the dramatic beams of light emanating from the heart of this chaotic backdrop form the fundamental philosophy of my art. This light represents the hope, consciousness, and spiritual elevation born of hardship. This sharp contrast reveals the tension between individual loneliness and collective belonging, aiming for the viewer to capture the moment of enlightenment (epiphany) shining in the darkness of their own life. Spiral Movement and Rebirth: Spiral birds are a cyclical form in which dispersion and union occur simultaneously; a journey that expresses the fragmentation of identities through migration and their integration and reshaping within different cultures. This layered narrative brings my works together not only aesthetically but also on an intellectual level. The viewer is invited to discover their own reflection in the mist, their lost directions, and their identity reborn by feeding on light.