WITNESS OF THE CRAZED CROWDS
Nedim Gürsel
Aragon said "We are made of dreams in just the same way as the dreams are made of us" Akbaş's
painting reveals itself as if it was proving this dialectic. The relationship between the reality and
indifference create a creator from a person. It's safe to say that since we are the individuals of the same
country and dreams, the path that this artist follows is similar to mine. He actually doesn't paint, he
explodes. He has so much to share with us, so many memories, pleasures and excitements! The
"Nouvelle figuration" (new figure) that he defines himself with suits his temperament perfectly. I can
say that I have known very few painters similar to him. Akbaş is one of them; his insane figures, his
colours which scratch and live under a yellow light remind us of the sun of the country he was born in.
His sharp and precise contours draw us into his personal mythology. This mythology comes from
childhood dreams, wishes, crowds of people, women, children and animals; above all, it's a moral
research.
The artist ironically examines the concepts of good and bad, however, we witness a tragic world emerge,
a world that laughter tries to hide in vain. Akbaş's creatures, whose wiggly strings in his self- portraits are
pulled by himself, are in great motion. They are moving about, having fun, bending, making love and
harming themselves. The point in question is a dynamic, over expressive paint which sometimes
replaces expression with motion. Every canvas tells a story.
When we look closer to Akbas's paintings, we suppose that we are in an amusement park or a circus, the
places of insanity and happiness, in which an unfamiliar light reigns. And under this light, the painter
paints life just like his dreams.
(Paris, August 1993)