LH: How has COVID-19 affected your practice?

KA: Due to Covid- 19, we have basically locked ourselves for three months in İstanbul as happened in all cosmopolitan cities. The exhibition I planned to have last May is naturally postponed to an unknown date. My works were already ready for the exhibition. My paintings are in my workshop. However, as I do my photography at home, I focused on photography more during this process and had a chance to create a new photography series called "On the Road". We are planning to open an online exhibition with this concept. In the meantime, in the first days of quarantine, we launched my YouTube channel called "Aah Belinda", which I had been thinking of having but postponing for a while.  In this channel, there are documentaries and various interviews about me as well as my short films that I have shown in my exhibitions. 

LH: What kind of research goes into a piece before you start? What is your process when creating work?

KA: I like to produce my pictures and photos according to certain concepts. As almost working on a storyboard, I enjoy weaving the compositions, developing the subject and elaborating on details. Though I occasionally return to the old concepts, I try to create differences in terms of colour and compositions and try to adhere to my style while doing this. First of all, I have to finish the work in my head, which sometimes takes months. I don't like creating the similar works for a long time, so I take long breaks in order to be able to walk away from my previous works. Materialising the new idea would be a painful process by itself. However, I think, the whole pleasure of my job is in this process. 

LH: How has your work shifted as you have grown and changed over the course of your career?

KA: In the beginning, my aim was to study Graphic Arts, and I did. I had a pretty good career thanks to producing many projects, however the intensity of the job overwhelmed me. And I chose freedom and from that time on, I decided to create just for myself.I have never been interested in popular trends in my new career that stared with painting and spread to different platforms through short films. I have always tried to create my own language, and  I suppose I succeeded it. 

LH: What are some of your inspirations?

KA: Journeys have always fed me a lot. Though I don't prefer to continuously engage in the practical side of my endeavour, my mind is always busy with my work. I always spare time for journeys between my creation processes or exhibitions. And I always find a hint that triggers me or helps me to find my new subject

LH: How do you think art can affect society?

KA: We know that the arts influence the society in many ways. For example, cinema is the most practical way of having the society to like or dislike something. Politicians cannot do what popular actors do even if they try for years. Though it appeals to a smaller segment of society, visual arts is also very powerful. In my last exhibition, I covered the subject of migration and I had seen audiences whose eyes brimmed with tears while watching my fragmented boat installation. And the impact of graffiti and the critical street art artists such as Banksy on young people cannot be denied. 

LH: What advice would you give to the next generation of artists?

KA: What I can never accept in the arts is imitation. Of course, we are all influenced by similar things and from each other, so we create similar works and this interaction is pretty normal. However, most of the young artist choose to follow popular trends and best selling artists as a way of gaining a ground in the art world instead of trying to create their own language. I believe there is nothing more important than sincerity in the arts. My most important advice for the young artists is that they reflect their own world in their arts. 

LH: Who do you create for?

KA: For myself and for people that are capable of looking at the world from my point of view.

LH: What advice would you tell your younger self?

KA: I would say follow the road you yourself had chosen. I do not have many regrets in terms of my career.