Artist’s Statement







Defne Özdoğan is an artist from Istanbul, Turkey. Having taken a spatial design education at Central Saint Martins BA Architecture, she practices paintings, ceramics and fashion design as well as spatial creations.

Her observations of social issues and acts are subjected in her design work as her response to the gaps and matters of disconnection in the society. She likes to think of herself as a narrator who creates stories for bringing warmth, entertainment and emphathy for the cause of dealienation. In her cultural surroundings, she was introduced to traditional crafts, which as a designer she aimed to embed into her contemporary style. In paralel to this, she beleives that a transparancy between the designer and the community would bring sensuality and intimacy to the user. She treats the user’s movement and experience in space, the story plot and the materiality as the important contextual fragments that individually serve for the wholeness of the design. While her technique works toward bringing ideas to reality, a process of abstraction serves for the visualization of the imaginary. She tries to push the boundaries of conventional materials with an unconventional use. Idea networking and collaboration are among her tools for design development. Her methodology of making is ethically responsible and she tries to adopt regenerative and innovative solutions.

The different mediums she works with have been mutually setting the character of her artistic identity. Thus, given her the capability to offer a multitude of skills and approaches working both conceptionally and hands on. She treats architecture as a thematic and playful practice where she can spatially communicate her manifestos. Set design for her on the other hand, is a playground to use her crafting skills to materialize a fictional world and narrate its experince.

Artist’s Statement






Defne Özdoğan is an artist from Istanbul, Turkey. Having taken a spatial design education at Central Saint Martins BA Architecture, she practices paintings, ceramics and fashion design as well as spatial creations.

Her observations of social issues and acts are subjected in her design work as her response to the gaps and matters of disconnection in the society. She likes to think of herself as a narrator who creates stories for bringing warmth, entertainment and emphathy for the cause of dealienation. In her cultural surroundings, she was introduced to traditional crafts, which as a designer she aimed to embed into her contemporary style. In paralel to this, she beleives that a transparancy between the designer and the community would bring sensuality and intimacy to the user. She treats the user’s movement and experience in space, the story plot and the materiality as the important contextual fragments that individually serve for the wholeness of the design. While her technique works toward bringing ideas to reality, a process of abstraction serves for the visualization of the imaginary. She tries to push the boundaries of conventional materials with an unconventional use. Idea networking and collaboration are among her tools for design development. Her methodology of making is ethically responsible and she tries to adopt regenerative and innovative solutions.

The different mediums she works with have been mutually setting the character of her artistic identity. Thus, given her the capability to offer a multitude of skills and approaches working both conceptionally and hands on. She treats architecture as a thematic and playful practice where she can spatially communicate her manifestos. Set design for her on the other hand, is a playground to use her crafting skills to materialize a fictional world and narrate its experince.