Eymen Aktel, who graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Marmara University in 2021, focuses on forms of social order and pluralistic ways of living in her work. Through her use of human and animal images, she creates visual narratives that investigate multilayered societal structures. The representations of animals prevalent in her work do not simply symbolize nature, but become tools that put into question the cultural, political, and ontological relationship between humans and nature. Through this approach, Aktel’s work makes visible the permeable boundaries between nature and society.
While the artist’s practice centers around societal dynamics like class conflicts and hierarchical structures, it also imagines a world where all living beings are included in a collective and equitable way of life. Aktel’s formal references to aesthetics of antiquity and traditional arts and motifs relate the visual codes of the past with present societal conditions. This way, she forms a conceptual bridge between historical continuity and contemporary structures.
Her exhibitions include: Group exhibition, Pilot Gallery (2025); Group exhibition, Contemporary Istanbul, .artSümer Gallery (2023); Group exhibition, Bilgili Holding, ONE Akaratler (2023), Artweeks Akaretler, Öktem Aykut Gallery (2022); Group exhibition, Istanbul Museum of Archeology (2022); Residency, Group exhibition, Öktem Aykut Gallery & Bilgili Holding; Group exhibition, Atatürk Cultural Center (2022); Seven day performans series, Müze Gazhane (2022); Group exhibition, Izmir Atlas Pavilion (2022); Group exhibition, CIACEF - UNICEF (2022); Performance at Akbank Sanat (2021); Performance at Performistanbul (2020); Performance at the 16th Istanbul Biennial (2019); Public performance series, “Hurdahaş” (Moda Park, Göztepe Freedom Part, Bodrum Marina, DADA Salon) (2019); Group exhibition, Lite-Haus Galerie Berlin (2019).
