About the author

Ayse Balkos

<p>&#160;Ayse Balkose is a Turkish/British visual and performance artist, however, since 2020 pandemic, she has expanded her practice to include spoken word, lyric and play writing/performing. Her work is focused on themes of displacement, &#8220;un-belonging&#8221; and expectations of being a woman with an emphasis on the individual within a socio-political context. Drawing from personal experience as a daughter of a widow mother living through economic hardships and lager on as an immigrant learning a new language and culture whilst living in the UK,&#160; she is interested in investigating the relationship between unresolved emotions and self-isolation while attempting to pinpoint the causes of mental confusion or insecurities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>&#160;</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ayse studied chemical engineering at the university of Ankara and MBA, her masters in business administration in Yildiz Technical University in Turkey. While working in Istanbul at a textile factory, she began to explore her career as an artist. For over ten years She&#8217;s been active as a painter / photographer and live performer in installations and various durational performances. In recent years, she took on the role of Cultural Commentator for the Middle East and Africa,&#160; gave talks on Anatomy of UnBelonging and actively performing her play Canine Teeth which investigates the expectations of being a woman in Turkey. Her commissioned performance work &#8220;A Journey of UnBelonging &#8220;, aimed at changing the public perception about what it means to be seeking sanctuary and feelings of alienation. In 2019 I expanded on these themes with a short film, &#8220;Voice&#8221;. As an audio/visual installation it explored the struggle of migrant artists to find authentic ways of expressing themselves.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>&#160;</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While working as a photographer,&#160; she expanded her photography and painting portfolio which eventually led her &#160;to exhibit work at the Moscow modern art gallery, the Royal Arts Prize &#8211;London and the DOK- Edinburgh and many more.This book is part of the project the Canine Teeth which was funded by the Arts Council England National Lottery Funding, written and performed by Ayse.</p>