July 26, 2023

Talking Hands Workshop with Selin Göksel

Led by artist and trainer Selin Göksel, Talking Hands workshop, the second of the summer events, took place in Quick Tower’s lobby. In the workshop, participants took a mould of their hands with alginate material. Some chose to take a mould from the world of sign language or emojis.

Selin Göksel ile Konuşan Eller Atölyesi tanıtım görseli

The second event of the summer workshops programmed by Nergis Abıyeva at Quick Art Space was held with artist and trainer Selin Göksel. The demand was so high for the first Talking Hands workshop which took place on July 26, Wednesday, 3 to 6 pm, in the lobby of Quick Tower that a second round of it was organized on July 28, Friday.

“We held the second of the summer workshops I programmed at Quick Art Space with artist and instructor Selin Göksel, whereas we continue to work on our corporate identity. The participation to the Talking Hands workshop on July 26, Wednesday 3 to 6 pm in Quick Tower’s lobby was incredible. Unable to withstand the high interest in the workshop, Selin agreed to repeat the workshop on July 28, Friday :) In addition to Maher Group employees and Quick Tower tenants, Quick Art Space’s instagram followers also attended the workshop. The Talking Hands workshop, which we organized as a free public event in accordance with the principles of Quick Art Space, which aims to be a non-profit culture and art institution, was sponsored by Quick Sigorta.

“The main material of the workshop, alginate, is used to take detailed mouth impressions in dentistry. Dentists use alginate to replicate the teeth and jaw structure. Dental prostheses, mouthguards and other dental applications are designed accurately. Alginate is a 100% non-toxic and hypo-allergenic material; in other words, it is harmless for living and environmental health. When Selin mixed alginate and plaster to obtain a purple mortar, the participants dipped their hands into the material and were fascinated to see that it first turned pink and then froze white.[9] Since the most important time for the material to start freezing is the first 5-10 seconds, Selin was supported by her artist friend Mihriban Mirap as a volunteer. 28 moulded sculptures emerged in more than three hours.

“For the alginate moulding workshop, we chose the image of the hand, which attract our attention in artworks from cave paintings to contemporary art. The plaster moulds made by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which are now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, inspired the participants. Selin placed a file of signs and emojis on the table to help those who failed to decide what hand shape to do.

“As a curator who thinks that museums, arts and culture institutions and galleries should develop policies that do not exclude children, I aim to organize “child-friendly” workshops instead of separating children and adults. Artist Ercan Vural came with his daughter and they took moulds of their hands together. There were also mothers and daughters who took moulds of their hands, stating that they were looking forward to the next workshop. All these beautiful moments were photographed by Murat Bakmaz.”

An abstract from Abıyeva’s article on QMAG’s August issue.

About Selin Göksel

Born in 1978, Selin Göksel completed her bachelor’s degree in Plastic Arts (Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics) at Yeditepe University in 2005 with a full scholarship. After completing her master’s degree in Art and Crafts Teacher Education at Marmara University in 2011 with her thesis titled “Investigation and Comparison of the Educational Room Activities of Istanbul Museum of Modern Art and Lentos Kunst Museum Linz, Austria in the Period 2009-2010”. Having opened five solo exhibitions and participated in many group exhibitions, Göksel illustrated two children’s books written by Olcay Güner in 2015. In 2019, with two paintings, she took part in the book titled “Collaboration Book Project” organized by Lydia Rink, and, with her photographs, in the book titled “Lost in Istanbul” by photographer Irina Popova.

Göksel’s training as a dental prosthesis technician before starting her art education and working in this field for a while strengthened her relationship with different materials and enabled her practice to have a wide range. Göksel produces oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings on paper and canvas as well as wood, linoleum, and monoprints. She also creates sculptures from ceramics, paper, iron, plywood, wire, and found materials. In her ongoing photography project, she photographs two plywood sculptures in front of a historical building, in a square or in nature.

Having worked with different age groups from kindergarten to high school at Gymboree Play and Music, Enka and Hisar Schools, Selin Göksel gives personalized art lessons to reveal creativity and to prepare high school students for fine arts departments of universities in Turkey and abroad. Göksel is also a member of the Association of Art Psychotherapies.