Esra Art Studio
by Esra Kanisicak
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Esra Kanisicak is an interdisciplinary sculptor, wife and mother. Throughout 16 relocations in her life, first as the child of a Turkish diplomat and later her expat adult life she relied on art to anchor her soul and feed her need for creativity. Prior to moving to the United States with her husband in 2003, she pursued her passion for scuba diving and worked as a scuba instructor. She has been calling Cincinnati her home since 2011. As a stay home mother, she started her self-taught art career in 2008 and later pursued her life-long dream and studied fine arts at the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP (College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning) where she developed a deep affection for 3D art and has found her artistic expression in mixed media sculpture. She explores ocean conservation through the imagery of entanglemen. Through sculpture and installation, she reflects on how humans and animals alike become caught in systems of our own making.
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STATEMENT
I used to spend my waking hours underwater as a scuba diving instructor, being awe-struck by the natural wonders, the balance, and the peace of the underwater world. This love of the ocean fuels my deep concern about her well-being.
My artistic practice revolves around conveying the captivating beauty and pressing plight of our oceans, with a specific focus on the destructive impact of abandoned fishing gear, or 'ghost nets.'
By design, these nets continue to ensnare and harm marine life long after they have been abandoned, entangling turtles, sharks, dolphins, seals, and other marine life. We, too, live caught in the nets we’ve woven; consumerism, and the relentless cycle of wanting more than we need. These man-made constructs turn life into a performance of keeping up and catching up; a shared exhaustion that echoes the silent struggle of fish ensnared in our discarded nets. My sculptures and installations confront this duality, revealing how our drive to consume binds us as tightly as it traps the ocean’s creatures
I explore the contrast between vibrant aquatic life and the entanglement of nets underwater. Through various materials and organic forms, I create depth and texture, building a story around my work with the fishnets. By bringing marine life into our sphere of empathy, I seek to ignite a desire to help us reconsider our relationship with materials, with nature, and with ourselves.
I am greatly inspired by these artists, activists, and pioneers leading the awareness efforts in contemporary art and society today;
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Dr. Sylvia Earle - Mission Blue
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Pam Longobardi - Drifters Project
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Alejandro Duran - Garbage Museum & Washed Up
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