Notes from the Studio: with Serpil Mavi Üstün

HP What is the first thing you do in the morning?
SMU I make coffee and sit quietly for a few minutes. I like starting the day without immediately producing anything. It helps me notice how I’m feeling before I enter the work.

HP Describe where you produce your work, and why you chose that space.
SMU I work in a light, calm studio where I can control the pace of the day. I chose this space because it allows for stillness. My work needs time, pauses, and room for things to feel unresolved.

HP Where do you go to feel energised creatively?
SMU Often it’s not a place but a moment. Watching a film scene, noticing a small gesture, or observing an everyday situation can be enough to trigger something.

HP If you could choose one word to describe your work, what would it be?
SMU Suspended.

HP What do you do when you need to escape the studio and reset your mind?
SMU I step away and return to ordinary life. Cooking, walking, or spending time at home helps me reset. Distance often clarifies what the work is asking for.

HP What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
SMU Trust what keeps returning to you. If an image or feeling insists, it’s worth listening to.

HP If you weren’t an artist what would you do?
SMU Something connected to psychology or storytelling. I’m deeply interested in inner worlds and the quiet tensions between people.

HP What is one thing you couldn’t live without in your studio?
SMU Audiobooks. They keep me company during long, repetitive studio hours and allow my hands to work while my mind stays open.

HP What book are you reading right now?
SMU A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes, and The Schopenhauer Cure by Irvin D. Yalom.

HP What is the best decision you have made?
SMU Choosing to trust my intuition and allowing my work to remain unresolved.