What we call ‘moment’ is the very reality. We want to be in it but get away from it at the same time. It is the uncertainty of where we will be going. It is something we are maybe curious about, or afraid of…

Even though ‘Return to Now’ gives the impression that it’s about life that we think is real or the moment we live in, it’s actually the opposite. The title refers to the moment that we return to in the real dimension of energy. It’s about returning to the place and the moment where we were not yet embodied (put into bodies).

Despite all this worldly time phenomenon and the complete opposite of today, Burcu Yavuz carries this perception in a different environment. She called the way of existence of the energy hidden in movements such as mysticism and spiritualism, and its leap between dimensions, ‘Moment’. The real now consists of just this moment and its pictures. It has nothing to do with world reality and language. It has removed the boundaries of time from its living space.

For her, the perception of time and space is also a simulation on this world. It is nothing more than a dream world. Real life, real time is in the divine system. And the first moment we are appointed within this divine system is now. She believes that the world is nearing its end, and it is time to leap into another dimension. That’s why crowded souls will return to the divine system in case of migration. For this reason, the name of this exhibition is “Return to Now”.

In this exhibition, we encounter with ‘Araf’ (Purgatory) series once again, which is the first series that the artist has worked on. So, we basically go back to that moment, where there is more crowd, where cosmos is not yet dissipated or entered the frequency and the loop- people who are on the way to the unknown for the first time. Her works usually have a monochrome background, there is much of a feeling of emptiness- plain backgrounds which do not create a certain perception, but rather drawing you in, where you only see people. This series is all about the concrete- not the abstract.

​The paintings show groups of people which Burcu Yavuz represents from an extreme distance. Seen out of a bird perspective, the depicted persons lose their individuality due to the lack of naturalism and detail. For the artist, the protagonists become symbolic references for our energetic shell that we inhabit while we are on this planet. Although the people’s spirit and soul differ from each other, from a distance they all look alike. The masses, in which they gather move onto the uncountable roads of our urban jungle. While on a hastily running to an unknown destination that lays outside the painting’s frame, they lose their individuality and identity. Still recognizable as human beings, they become shadows that float above the surface. Yet, although they exist in groups, they appear as detached from any social togetherness. They seem alone and isolated. Here, the works point to a dilemma in today’s modern society.

Looking at Burcu Yavuz’s painting the need for stopping, for contemplation and for reconsideration becomes obvious. The works underline that the now is not on the way to somewhere but at the very point that you stand; the now is not somewhere else, but right where you are. While observing her pieces, the spectator gets into a state of concentration, which leads her/ him to the now of the very moment of her/ his perception. You are right here, in front of the painting, which has no past and future but only the present of its immutable state.

The now is not empty, the now is not logical. It is real and spiritual as well as emotional and rational. The now is now, here, and now!

Marcus Graf 

January 2024