By Meral Alma, Rotary Club of Düsseldorf-Schlossturm, Germany
I was born in Germany and raised amidst a tapestry of diverse cultures – Turkish, Arabic, and German. Today, I view these varied cultural imprints and experiences as a profound treasure.
It’s akin to a grand mansion with myriad windows that open possibilities to perceive situations and people from different angles. The remarkable spectrum of attitudes and experiences has brought me to a profound understanding that in life, the pursuit of recognition or acceptance should never be tethered to conformity or submission. Instead, one must forge one’s own perspective and chart a personal path towards liberation and fulfilment, even if it entails enduring profound challenges spanning years or even decades.
Our world is an intricately interconnected web, where countless threads bind everything together. However, many of these connections remain hidden to our social bubbles, bombarded by information and disinformation, while boundaries shift, and value systems erode. It’s crucial to firmly position oneself and form an independent opinion.
Within Rotary, I have consistently encountered genuine, engaging, and dedicated individuals. The concept of uniting individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions to facilitate the exchange of ideas, coupled with the humanitarian essence of Rotary, resonates with the values instilled in me. Rotary serves as a platform for exchanging ideas, examining circumstances from diverse viewpoints, and taking tangible actions that embody our values rather than merely discussing them.
The painted transcript of perceived reality
I am a painter who creates expansive worlds on canvases stretching up to 16 meters tall. Within these painted realms, figures, environments, and stories come alive, perpetually in motion and undergoing transformative journeys. They capture raw emotions, delicate beauty, and occasional harshness inherent in these experiences.
Life, a perpetual state of transformation, offers a profound chance to decisively shape our own evolution and that of the world. As an artist, I translate the world and the impressions I carry within me into the studio, pouring them onto the canvas. The force behind each stroke, the confident precision, and the dynamic interplay of colours and forms – these elements later become palpable, evoking a response within the viewer.
My approach to painting prioritizes liveliness and expressiveness over precise replication. It’s about accentuating unique traits, seizing moments and emotions, and then channelling them onto the canvas for the viewer’s consumption. By doing so, I aim to render intangible ideas into something concrete and relatable.
In my artwork, I frequently depict the punk as a singular character. To me, this symbol represents not the historical rebellion against societal norms, but an invitation to forge a personal path. It embodies the courage to uphold one’s values and convictions, refusing to live a life driven by the need for external validation or fear of potential drawbacks. The emergence of the punk figure in my works several years ago was a revelation. With the canvas lying horizontally before me, I let the paint flow freely, gradually outlining the contours of the figure with bold, determined brushstrokes. Layer by layer, the mysterious form took shape, unveiling its hidden essence beneath the evolving tapestry of paint.
But my intention extended beyond mere representation. In our interactions with others, and even within ourselves, numerous motives, traits, and emotions often lay concealed, perceptible only through subtle sensations. To capture this profound encounter within my artwork, the punk heads bear an extra visual layer – an empowered alter ego that surfaces solely in darkness, rendering tangible the intangible depths of our being.
See more of Alma’s paintings on this Rotary Instagram post
https://blog.rotary.org/2023/06/30/how-art-can-channel-diverse-experiences/