About

Artist Statement

I make clothing for witches, mythical beasts and the afterlife. Mixing fiber, beads, rocks, metal, plastic and hair together through textile making techniques, I build a panoply of garments to provoke contemplation about the owner. 

Evidence of the desire to surround oneself in death with objects both useful and protective, grave goods are buried with the dead in many cultures. This practice inspires my work. Whether it's a trinket or an elaborate array of riches, these objects buried with the dead buffet one for the vicissitudes of the afterlife. Combs and adornments to feel beautiful. Masks, armor and shields to guard something human, since flesh needs no protection in death. These regalia are shielding objects, a suit of arms and creature comforts invoking talismanic protection. 

I use the power of ornament to transform familiar materials into a protective construction to guard the body from the danger and violence of the world.  A fragile animal body imbued with strange, unnameable powers is unveiled.

Bio

Defne Tutus is an artist, writer and curator based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her B.A. in Art History from Tufts University. She also studied fashion design at FIT, fiber art and metal working at SVA and participated for many semesters in NYC Crit Club. She has shown her work at SVA, Copeland Gallery in London, ABC No Rio, Tussle Magazine Projects and Site:Brooklyn. She has participated in fundraisers for Open Source Gallery, Textile Artists for Movement Voter Project, and Thirst: a fundraiser and art auction in association with No More Deaths. 

She is a member of Incredible Incubator, an artists collective born in 2020 with an interest in work which interacts with the surrounding environment in unexpected ways. They present art shows on their website theshapeofthingswecreate.com 

She is also a co-founder of  art and literary journal Passing Notes launched in March 2022 https://www.wannapassnotes.com/issue-01  Issue 2 is coming out in September 2022

She recently curated The Bone That Sings Was Mine @ChaShaMa 340 E. 64th st. NYC in July/Aug 2022. The nine artists in the show make work which is deeply rooted in the body, but the forms they create are primarily non-figural.

Thru fiber, beads, rocks, metal, plastic and hair worked together in textile making practices, Defne Tutus uses the power of ornament to transform familiar materials into magical constructions.