Work

‘Like all women, I too have multiple persona’s which are each individual and yet also connected to one another. I’ll start with my first persona. We can imagine Ayça or just ‘a woman’ working. The clothes that wrap her body and her ability to move freely dependent on the extent to which the clothes she is wearing allow her to. The choice of clothes; shaping her as an entity through her choices on the form, colors and the production process. When in reality, the things we choose become a reflection of us and our external identity. The clothing becoming a form of memory bank from its fabric to every single stitch and embroidery. If you don’t meticulously embroider your own memories one by one, no one else will do it for you. Aspiring for individuality is also aspiring for the collective, because all forms of life are connected to one another. And so don’t forget, the clothes we wear are a type of manifesto too!

City

Cities are full of side streets as well as main roads. These roads where thousands of stories come together, especially if you live in an ancient city like Istanbul, are waiting to share their miracles with you. Istanbul has become one of the greatest teachers for me when it comes to walking, touching the walls, watching the sea, street animals, light beams gliding through trees, flora, layered cultural texture, human stories. Another thing I learned in my relationship with the city is that the closer you look at it, the deeper it opens up to you. If you look at pagan culture, look at Eastern Romen Empire, look at Ottoman, look at the Republic of Turkey, all times have been intertwined and time travel has begun. In a city like this, when I go to work, go shopping, meet friends or just take a walk, my body feels timeless. Of course, my performance on body-space structuring, which has been ongoing since 2014, is “There is a place for all of us!” and Istanbul is also my atelier. Everything that surrounds the body also surrounds the space!

Inner World

The place where collective consciousness and archaic memory make itself most visible is our home of life, our body surrounded by senses. And yet, let’s make a deep journey. Now close your eyes for a minute and say hello to your inner voice. Simplify life a little to make room for what they want to talk to you. Listen to his words. And you know what they say, being a good listener is essential for feeling the universe. Listen, breathe and be thankful for life. Because you are still alive and you are filled with thousands of stories. It is not possible to be bored when you are full of stories. Find your stories and come across what is possible in their universe of emotions. Say hello to life in your inner cities, away from hierarchies, where each being lives with its own uniqueness.

And map the streets of your inner city to the streets of the city you live in. This is how miracles happen. Be yourself in the city, in your inner world! “

*Fashion brand Giyi and performance artist Ayça Ceylan came together for the brand’s timeless and sustainable collection. In the commercial that consisted of four videos, Ceylan conveyed a day of his life through four different personas. Working, urban, focused on her inner world and in which all these memories are intertwined in a circular fashion, a section of the artist’s day is reflected on the screen, and the artist is reflected on the camera in a completely natural state, and only daylight was used during the shooting. Ceylan has combined the image of a strong woman with the four personas she created with Giyi’s timeless and sustainable fashion approach.

Consept, Creative Direction and Performance: Ayça Ceylan, Production: Pblok, Video-grapher: Mehmet Ömür, Backstage Photography: Ece Yavuz Brand Communication: Ahu Parlar