In the Studio with Hayal Pozanti: Process & Concept
Process, Beginning to End
“I start by drawing by hand then putting that into the computer. Then I’ll make many different iterations on the computer, and I’ll print it out. Sometimes I’ll print it out and collage it, and then put it back in. After that, when I’m happy with the composition, I’ll print it out on acetate paper. I have an old projector and I’ll project it onto whatever I'm going to paint—typically wood. I’ve worked on dye bond, too, but I like the texture of wood better. It absorbs the water-based paints. So I gesso it and sand it, and then I paint on it.”
The Alphabet
“I wanted to come up with shapes, icons, or logos as a language or alphabet—which I narrowed down to 31 shapes. I have been using that alphabet now for almost two years. However, nothing will repeat itself. I’m really interested in and invested in this idea of creating an individual, or unique, shape, or a unique icon or logo every time I make a painting. I’m not that interested in repetition.”
Studies for The Armory Show Series
“I didn’t use the alphabet for these, but instead I got these cards and just free-sketched everything that came out. I limited myself to 20 sketches, and then I photographed them and put them into the computer. However, these are not that far from the alphabet I created. When you learn a language, you start drawing the A, and the B, and the C. And now when I create, when I do it by freehand, they’re also referring to the alphabet; they’re similar. They’re almost the same shapes, but now I’m able to draw them out by hand, because I’ve gotten so accustomed to them.”
Photographs by Alex John Beck
