27/04/2026
Defne Cemal completed an artist residency at Hangar, Lisbon, throughout March.
“At Hangar Studios, I made a zine composed of fragments of the city and moments of light and color that I could find. I was looking for a way outside of my usual way of working—to invite curiosity back in. Being there across March, I experienced the city’s transition from winter to summer.
Lisbon is intensely bright—the sun reflects off the Atlantic in a blinding way, and the white marble sidewalks make it almost impossible to see. The light returns from the ocean into the air, creating a hazy cityscape. The environment shapes and transforms the city; paints fade under the sun and salt air.
There is always this sense of being between appearance and disappearance, something I often think about in my visual language—of being in constant transition. During this time, I began making small-scale watercolors, a selection of which I paired with photographs I took.
What I do is perhaps not finding form, but allowing forms to appear and disappear simultaneously, reflecting this shifting perception.
Setting something up, bringing it into balance, and then letting it soften slightly—the surface is not just an image, but a movement unfolding within its layers.”
Images from Hangar, Lisbon
