Duygu Aydoğan, in her exhibition entitled "Capsule," opened on December 2nd at Büyükdere35, offers a perspective on humanity's unfortunate fate and egocentric destiny as it intends to become a fossil or a remnant being in the future, starting from a person encapsulated in the form of a capsule, perhaps preserved for the future. The works, created using polymer clay, epoxy resin, organic flowers, and herbs, along with the use of multi-material practices, are constructed around open-ended questions related to humanity, fossilizing the past, and future quests.

- First, let's get to know you as an artist. How did your career begin?

My career as an "artist" began when I participated in the 2018 edition of Base, which brings together recent graduate artist candidates. Of course, I had been a constant creator before 2018, but my creative process was evolving alongside academic education. I started to establish my own studio conditions and became an independent artist capable of producing in 2018. In 2020, I held my first solo exhibition titled "Elsewhere." In 2022, I realized my second solo exhibition, "Capsule," which we worked on together.

- Can you describe your production practice conceptually and formally?

My production practice revolves conceptually around topics such as "extinction, anthropocentrism, interspecies relationships, post-humanism." I am interested in critiques of anthropocentrism, as well as subjects like animal and human history. Visually, I often look at places like paleontology and natural history museums that present visuals related to these topics. Artists with different production practices but similar interests also influence and shape my practice.

- Your exhibition "Capsule" at Büyükdere35 showcases the strongest aspects of your practice to the audience. How did the production process and the concept of "Capsule" come about?

"Capsule" has multiple meanings, both natural and artificial. When we think about its biological meaning, it refers to an outer layer that surrounds and envelops a living being, like the skin covering plants or parasites—a symbiotic space where different species coexist and organize. It also serves as a boundary that separates existence from the other. Additionally, it is a term frequently used in science fiction works, representing something hidden within, such as hibernation or space travel.

Considering all these meanings, I thought "Capsule" would be an inclusive name for my works and this exhibition. The frozen figures in epoxy resin resemble being inside a capsule. The ambiguous meanings they create about life and inanimate aspects align with the uncertainty in the sculptures. Thus, the exhibition started by attempting to define the existing sculpture series. It evolved into its current form with the addition of examples continuing this series and the inclusion of two new series.

- Your sculptures, which appear as if frozen, are presented here as meticulously prepared reliefs made of epoxy mixed with various materials. How do you shape your material choices and methodology for using them?

The final appearance of the works is achieved by combining various materials. The production process is a bit sculptural and a bit like painting. I shape the sculptures from polymer clay by hand, then paint them with acrylic paint. Afterwards, I place the sculptures on surfaces painted with acrylic and pour epoxy resin. Sometimes, I use organic materials like dried flowers, herbs, etc., during this process.

- The sculptures seem lifeless and silent, as if sleeping in the water. They give an intuition that a long time has passed, and they might wake up from the capsule they are in. How is the content and conceptual clash of these figures conveyed?

The figures can be described as if frozen in amber, fossilized in a swamp, or displayed in a paleontology museum—similar to pieces left from the world before humans. Like the remnants from the Anthropocene, the sculptures consist of parts that we can see and parts that are hidden.

- Where do these figures come from, and can we say they represent people around you?

I cannot say that the figures represent a specific person or model from my surroundings. Of course, I use some reference images while creating to shape the sculptures more accurately. However, these are quite static figures, and I avoid overly exaggerated, loaded figures that create too many psychological meanings. Therefore, I do not have a wide variety of figure searches.

- In your "Capsule" exhibition, we also see a new series depicting fossilized remnants of plants and insects. Could you speak about the approach and conceptual connection here?

Yes, the Fossil series is a newly added series to the exhibition. While it may have a different visual appearance technically, it is conceptually related to the other works; they are not entirely independent pieces. The Fossil series is a painting series where various trace fossil or residue images are diversified through digital manipulation, created using transfer, acrylic, and watercolor. The possibility of becoming a "remnant" in the future, which is the starting point of the sculptures, continues with fossil images remaining from the past in the paintings.

The idea of "rethinking humans on a scale ranging from animals to artificial intelligence, within a new openness" connects these two series. While the Fossil series reflects fragments from the distant past, the human figures in another aspect reflect pieces from the contemporary world. In this scale, humans are equated with species whose fossils are reflected in the past.