Melike Melenâ was born in Istanbul in 2000. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Graphic Arts at Anadolu University's Faculty of Fine Arts. In 2020, she founded the brand "Who," a collection of wearable artworks, and produced sustainable clothing products from her work. In 2022, she assisted Mehmet Sinan Kuran in the "Nowhere" exhibition at Anna Laudel. During the summer, she coordinated and led children's art workshops at Art Istanbul Feshane. The artist, who directs the children's art unit of the Hayal Gücü Merkezi Association, organizes workshops for women and children in alternative art education. She continues her work in Istanbul and Eskişehir, conducting workshops both in institutional and personal settings.
This sculpture embodies Şule Gürbüz's quote, "Sometimes you should burn your house down and then go out and watch it," which poetically evokes destruction and transformation. The house, adorned with traditional tile patterns, represents the memory of destruction, while the flames, inlaid with Swarovski stones, highlight the shimmering side of destruction. The work questions the aesthetics inherent in destruction and the possibility of a new perspective born from destruction. A house crowned with tile motifs symbolizes the adorned burden of the past, while crystal flames symbolize the transformative power of burning and contemplating it. Destruction here is not an end, but a radiant beginning.
Every now and then, one should burn one's house down and then go out and contemplate it;
30x26 Acrylic on Clay and Swarovski
