Hello, I’m Özlem. I was born and raised in Istanbul. I completed my primary and high school education here, and in 2009, I started studying at Marmara University, Atatürk Faculty of Education, Painting Department. I graduated in 2013. During my university years, I participated in various group exhibitions. After graduation, I worked as an assistant to the painter Murat Pulat for three years.

Later, I started working as an art instructor in different institutions. But the most extraordinary experience I had was at Erenköy Psychiatric Hospital. During the art therapy classes there, I had the opportunity to observe people’s suppressed emotions, inner transformations, and confrontations in a deeper way. Witnessing how modern life and the pressures of the system affect individuals and how they process these experiences through art was incredibly eye-opening for me. It was during this period that I started my series Symbiotic Confrontations.

In this series, I explored the internal struggles of individuals and the emotional and mental effects of the modern world on us. I have participated in various group exhibitions as well as international digital exhibitions. Currently, I live in Istanbul and continue to create. Nowadays, I am working on new series focusing on the disconnection between humans and nature, as well as the mutations of the world shaped by human intervention.