Bilal Yilmaz

I am an interdisciplinary artist based in Istanbul. I mainly use light, sound, movement and interaction to create sculptural objects, installations and experiences that shift the spectator's perception and bring a joy of collectivity. Alongside my interdisciplinary works, I develop social and collective projects creating impact through artistic approaches. In 2010, I initiated a Collective Studio at Boğaziçi University to create a collaborative production space for experimental art and design practices. In 2012, I co-founded the design collective Olmaz İşler (Impossible Works), through which I gained experience in designing conceptual interior spaces and exploring the interaction of people with their environment, objects and light. My interest in craftsmanship and in making led to the collective action project Crafted In Istanbul (2012-ongoing), which aims at uncovering the social, cultural and economic potential of crafts in the post-industrial environment, by bringing visibility to Istanbul's underground craftsmen's studios and activating collaborations between craftsmen and creatives. Crafted In Istanbul is featured in Tania Bruguera's archive of Arte Útil as a "case-study that draws on artistic thinking to imagine, create and implement tactics that change how we act in society". My works have been selected among others for the 15th Istanbul Biennale of Contemporary Art (2017) and the 2nd Istanbul Design Biennale (2014), and presented in museums and galleries in Istanbul and abroad. I am also regularly invited to give talks and workshops on different aspects of my work. In 2022-2023 I was a visiting lecturer at Bilgi University - Istanbul - Department of Architecture.

Q&A

Artist Statement

I studied Information Systems Engineering at Boğaziçi University (Istanbul) and Computer Science at Binghamton University (New York), and I received an MA in Industrial Product Design from Istanbul Technical University. My interdisciplinary interests and education are reflected onto my work, which oscillates between art, design and social engagement. My practice is also largely based on finding and uncovering the potentials that are hidden because of the contemporary social, political and financial reality, as well as on experiential and collaborative learning and making. A lot of what I do therefore aims at creating tools that activate possibilities and communities through imagining and experimenting with alternative systems of engagement and collective production.Since producing with craftsmen and thinking around crafts has always shaped my practice both conceptually and technically, I have been working on a systematic approach that would share this experience and potential with others. Together with curator Lydia Chatziiakovou, we have been developing Creative-Craft Platform, a tool to build creative communities and Networks around crafts and to reimagine crafts in the post-industrial society. CCP aims to reveal and reactivate the potential of crafts as a socially, culturally and economically sustainable form of production especially for creative ideas in the post-industrial era. CCP perceives crafts as an absolutely contemporary practice that brings together the past, the present and the future. This approach offers the basis for reimagining crafts as a valuable means of production of both goods and inclusive, collaborative social relations. (https://bilalyilmaz.info/creative-craft-platform)