Gülseda, Tattoo on the Body (Photo Documentation), Freehand, 2024
“I love Özge very, very much as an artist and I follow her closely. Her work, care and lines are wonderful. When she announced the project, I immediately signed up for it. I knew it would be improvised and Özge is a tattoo artist I can trust with my eyes closed.
I came to Izmir for the tattoo and I couldn't sleep at night because of the excitement. I was feeling “balance” and I wanted it to find expression, but of course it was up to the artist, it was a roll of the dice.
Özge first told me about the project and made me read the project description. The uncertainty of life and the “balance” within this uncertainty made me smile.
I realized I was in the right place.
Of course, nothing is a coincidence. In order to work intuitively, one must first be aware of one's intuition. Özge and I talked about the position of the tattoo and we both said that we imagined the left and side of the body.
I was still very excited, there was no nervousness at all and I was very sure that I would like the result one hundred percent. Özge took the ink and started drawing on my body. When she said “OK” and showed it to me, I knew that what I was seeing was exactly what it was supposed to be. It was a drawing that opened from the center to the periphery, that was cyclical, that could spread freely in other directions within this cycle, that is, that everything was the way it was supposed to be. A spacious, elegant and exuberant expression that did not dictate that it should be either this way or that way, but reminded me that it could be both this way and that way, mirroring the human experience itself to me.
I sang a lot of songs and om during the tattooing. With ease and pleasure, sometimes with pain, we completed the tattoo in a surprisingly short time. I was filled with joy that I would carry the magnificence I saw in the mirror on my body until I die. I look forward with gratitude, enthusiasm and curiosity to what I will experience in the rest of my life with this tattoo, which is neither more nor less; imperfect and perfect like life itself, seeking balance and path in imbalance and uncertainty, reminding me of being on the road, fluidity and surrender with confidence.”
Gülseda
