Archival Alchemy

Hayal Pozantı

Hayal Pozanti makes bright abstract paintings and prints that feature bold interlocking and overlapping forms suggesting ancient hieroglyphics and contemporary digital encryption. The artist works strictly within a visual language she calls “Instant Paradise”—an invented lexicon of 31 characters that correspond to specific numbers and letters from the English alphabet. As a Turkish transplant in New York who speaks numerous languages, Pozanti views her lexicon as a way to communicate about cross-cultural experiences while exploring themes of acceptance and unification. Early in her career, Pozanti created digital collages, GIFs, and paintings that address the relationship between the virtual and physical worlds. The artist received her BFA at ​​Sabanci University in Istanbul and earned her MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale in 2011. She has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, and Istanbul. Her work belongs in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, the San José Museum of Art, and the MSU Broad Art Museum.