I like to combine my experience of living in a city with absurd fundamentals of daily life dynamics in the prints I create. I value works that capture the essence of orientalism, the structure of living. I draw inspiration from the idea of remembrance and the way I see and analyze them, specifically patterns from Turkish culture. The idea of displacement and diaspora in Istanbul plays a big role in my art practice.I use printmaking as my main medium as the act of creating a pattern onto a block surface is meditative for me. Making multiples is essential to printmaking and the way images can expand in directions in controlled continuity fascinates me. Most of the imagery originates from the number “3” and each pattern is generated from lines of intuition. Creating these works encouraged me to explore how printmaking is affected by technological influences and a combination of interdisciplinary media. The introduction of the laser cutter eliminates the surprise factor in printmaking. All the effort of carving can only be visualized in one’s head until it is printed. I moved away from two-dimensional flat surface prints into sculptural and modular works. The initial process of designing the image involved digital drawings and illustrations. This interaction of mediums manipulates the image from analog to digital and vice versa, while retaining the integrity of the painter and tactile quality of printmaking.The steps in creation include; Arriving at a spark which could be a symbol, a shape, an irregular area, or just a concept. This is inspired by Turkish culture and the streets of Istanbul. I then explore the interactions between lines, colors, and most importantly: layers.The next steps include brainstorming a pattern that emerges from these interactions.Most of these patterns are inspired by the Turkish Iznik tiles and the binary system of computing in the digital realm. This game of pattern-making results in each section alternatively colored or plain, thereby alluding to the patterns of zeros and ones.Another important aspect of my work is the collaboration involved- not just with traditional and modern forms of art, but also with other artists who inspire me.

A drawing inspired by a color theory class I took in college. Getting out of the page, not abiding by rules of surface and ground, taking the drawing into digital form to explore ideas regarding borders and boundaries.

Candy

Another example of our collaboration. On top of Nemo’s floral designs, I added layers of geometrical shapes and lines that cut the initial design into a series of layers, which then can be repeated in order to create a full pattern.

In collaboration with Nirmohee Belvalkar.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Flowers

An amazing collaboration that was born from the unfortunate circumstances that Covid-19 forced upon us. As international students at a US college, we were evacuated, lost our privileges of studio access, and had to study visual arts through a laptop screen. With one of my amazing friends that I met in college, we have combined our own processes of drawing into creating a work that can exist anywhere in the world. Her work is very delicate and intricate drawings of floral patterns, which I manipulated with my process of numeric sections to create a collaborative visual.

In collaboration with Nirmohee Belvalkar

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Green

I enjoy creating works that makes the viewer lose their understanding of dimension when looked. This work in particular called for two colors that contrast with each other while transitioning the viewer’s eyes into each other seamlessly. The more you look at this work, the more shapes start coming forward. I am exploring that state of dimension that is between 2-D and 3-D.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Blue

I wanted to capture a moment where the surface and the background of the image merge into each other, through a series of shapes and forms. There is no composition in my works, as they are created to be repeated to infinity. I created this work to occupy space, exist in a digital world, and translate my pattern-making into a game. These works become more about the process of creating them rather than the end result itself.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Another work that was translated between analog and digital. I wanted to keep the painterly quality of the markers in texture, but have the precise nature of digital perfection. I used colors that worked with the pattern that was formed. As in all my works, I did not know what the pattern would look like until it was complete. The digital manipulation allows the work to be multiplied and resized into desired form, which completely alters the pattern itself.

Untitled by Melih Meric

Analog drawing processed through digital.

This is a work that I translated many times between analog and digital. I made my initial drawing on paper through a process of numerical system. This system allowed me to divide the surface into sections and layers with which I work to complete into a pattern. Introduction of the color only happens in my works after the pattern is complete. It is often not necessary, and I only use color if the work itself is telling a narrative through color, in this case is red.

Melih Meric

More from the Artist (7)

Candy

Flowers

Green

Blue

Eye

Untitled by Melih Meric

R.E.D