The rain hits the tin roof of the garage turned art studio, and whilst outside the sky is various shades of grey, inside the studio colour is everywhere. Ijlal busily moves around the studio making room at the paint-stained wooden table. The atmosphere is inviting and the passion in Ijlal’s eyes is contagious.
The walls of the studio are covered from floor to ceiling in various art works, mostly created with oil pastels or oil paints. It is the creative space of Ijlal, a 56-year-old artist originally from Izmir in Turkey, who moved to Australia at the age of six. She describes her art works as “uneasy” due to the confronting subjects they address. As an artist, she is inspired by social issues and uses her art to tackle topics such as global warming, war, and societies perception of fashion.
“Psychologically I’m drawn to these subject matters because they are affecting me. I'm not one of those people that draws a vase of tulips, if I did I'd have to put a machete in it or something,” she says. “I have to make it somehow a little uneasy because that's what moves me.”
The wooden table top is completely hidden by finished art pieces as Ijlal reflects on the darker tone of her work and her drive to convey messages.
“I do it because it's something that resonates with me. Each time I try to push my hand to work a little bit harder and try to make that small section of the canvas or the paper as effective as I can and as strong as I can,” she says. “I'm not drawing for personal taste. I'm drawing to say something about a period that I'm living in that's affecting me emotionally.”
One striking oil pastel piece is titled ‘Girl with a yellow handbag, groceries and an assault rifle,’ which depicts exactly what the title suggests. This piece is part of Ijlal’s fashion and war series, which explores the idea of everchanging fashion fads, but war never going out of fashion as it is a constant in the world in which we live.
“The whole idea is girl with the yellow handbag, groceries, and an assault rifle as if it's no big deal. She lives in a world of fashion and violence because you turn the news on and there's another school shooting somewhere, and then you'll watch the catwalk and bellbottoms are in again,” she says.
Ijlal’s art has been inspired by other artists particularly Rembrandt, Francis Bacon and her father, who was a self-taught artist. Whilst working in her studio Ijlal says she likes to have “a dialogue [of] these people around” her so she can draw on them for inspiration and technique.
“I have lots of photos around me like Rembrandt and Francis Bacon because if I need to draw a hand or forehead I'll look at see how Rembrandt did it. They’re the best teacher, that's why they exist,” she said.
Ijlal describes herself as mistakes, accidents, and awareness, as it is through mistakes and accidents that she has created some of her best work. Ultimately, Ijlal’s art encourages her audience to think about the heavier issues within society, in the hope of creating awareness and change.
“When you see [art] like that you can never unsee it and that's power. You see a painting that moves you, and maybe it could change your behaviour,” she says.
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