08 february 2022, Flor Linckens
The defragmentation of the human body in the work of Dennis Ceylan
Until 20 February, BruthausGallery is showing a solo exhibition by the young Turkish-Belgian artist Dennis Ceylan in their frontspace in Waregem. The artist searches for a physical dimension in his ceramic works, for which he does not only use glazed and unglazed ceramics, but also marble, plaster, plastic waste, polyurethane foam and even jute.
The artist has two main sources of inspiration: his own body and the surviving sculptures of ancient civilisations including the Greeks, the Romans and the pre-Columbian culture of the Olmecs in present-day Mexico. Ceylan became aware of the physical aspect of his body at an early age because his environment constantly confronted him with it in a negative way.
Dennis Ceylan, Hand (/Monument), 2021, BruthausGallery
Ceylan: “As a child, I was constantly told that I looked too overweight. It made me aware of how my body was perceived by others. I started comparing my body with the bodies of others to see what a good example of a healthy body might look like. Not that long ago, I paid my first visit to the Louvre, and since I was already fascinated by ideal - athletic bodies, the sculptures of the ancient Greeks and Romans were a must-see for me. But what I saw were not the ideal, perfect bodies that the heroes and Gods of old were supposed to represent, they were in fact imperfect. Fragments of their bodies have been lost throughout history, never to be seen again, like an arm, a leg or even their head. People will still claim that the bodies of these statues should be considered divine, perfect bodies, but if they were seen in today's society, the first impressions would not be those of 'perfect bodies’.”
Dennis Ceylan, Anne II, 2021, BruthausGallery
It was the starting point for an investigation into both the history of art and the defragmentation of the human body. In a certain sense, his own body forms a mirror, which means that his work becomes an embodiment of the artist himself. Sometimes in a quite literal sense. For instance, Ceylan makes his masks directly onto his own face. Because they shrink after the drying process, they can no longer be used as such, but the physical presence of the artist remains unchanged.
Ceylan completed his bachelor's degree in Ceramics & Glass at the LUCA – School of Arts Campus in Ghent last summer, but two of his works were already on display last fall in the public space in Duinbergen in Knokke-Heist, in a duo installation with the Japanese-Belgian artist Clara Spilliaert. Ceylan showed a work of a head and a hand, both of which are currently on show in BruthausGallery.
