Ozlem Thompson - contemporary artist in London

Ozlem Thompson is a contemporary artist based in London. She has a scientific background and deep love of nature. Ozlem tells sustainable art haus about how she has approached being sustainable in her practice, including working with sustainable brands.

Eternity and a Day piece III Acrylic on Canvas. Photo provided by artist.

You completed an undergraduate degree in biology and a masters degree in botany before deciding to pursue painting as a career. Tell us more about that decision and how your scientific background influences your art work today.

As a small child I loved drawing and was fascinated with colour. Since then, I studied the sciences, in particular biology and the logic behind the mechanisms of nature.  My deep interest in physics and especially quantum physics also helped open the doors of my imagination. 

After I graduated from high-school in Turkey, I realised that the academic system tends to force you into a certain direction. Either you have a career in certain areas or you will find the doors closed so because of my curiosity, and always wanting to know more about nature I decided that biology was the best subject to pursue. I was very glad that I had a chance to study it in one of the best universities in Turkey;  the University of Anatolia, completed my masters in Botany on the subject of ‘Exotic Plants and Their Usage in Industrial Design’, and a thesis in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Design at Istanbul Technical University. Then while I was examining the various career paths from the academic world, I began to question whether this general direction was for me.  I had hundreds of creative ideas sparkling in my mind, and wanted more than anything to bring them to reality, so I took a risk and decided to just focus on my inner voice, ignore everything else, and have since spent my time painting, reading about the history of art, and imagining works of sculpture.  

My scientific background has really given me a valuable perspective in life, and a naturally scientific way of thinking. I am lucky enough to see the deeper roots of nature, which inspires me more than anything. 

Being sustainable, reducing carbon footprint and seeking to achieve a net zero art practice is complex. You’ve said that are very concerned about the environment and doing what you can to reduce your contribution to the global warming. Tell us about the challenges you’ve faced doing this and what changes you’ve made to your practice.

According to UNICEF’s Global Climate crisis child risk report, in the near future more than one million children will be affected by the climate crisis.  While big international policy changes are the key we still can understand how to change our lifestyles to slow down the impacts of climate change. My scientific knowledge of historic global climate shifts made me concerned and I decided to do whatever I can as an artist. 

We can for example, filter the used water with coffee filters to reduce the toxicity of the brush water, or use the same brushes, looking after them carefully and use the same palette or material that would be thrown away as palette material.  One thing I did early on was to skip using oil paints because they are much more harmful to nature, and so I use water soluble acrylics. I also try to make collaborations with environmentally friendly companies such as ‘agoodcompany’, who made hundred percent ecologically friendly phone cases and asked me to paint them with soya paints. As these materials become more mainstream I believe we will use them more and more.

Eternity and a Day piece II Acrylic on Canvas. Photo provided by artist.

Also a sustainable fashion brand from Italy called ‘Banuia’, which was created by two university students studying ecology, invited me to collaborate in their hemp and cotton t-shirt production and printing. They are going to plant hemp trees in Sicily to reduce CO2 levels. My art itself, I feel shows the beauty of nature and the viewers can easily connect to nature when they see it and instead of harming it feel inspired to protect it.

Shipping works is one of the most important subjects for carbon footprint. Using crates is very heavy, expensive, impractical and actually due to the pandemic there is also there is a shortage right now because crates come from a few countries and they cut trees to make them. Instead of doing that, large size canvasses can be easily rolled up and sent, and then re-stretched.  I prefer that if it is going out of UK, also encouraging my collectors to come and pick up their work reduces waste, which I do. I prefer big sizes of paints instead of small tubes, which finish very quickly and are more expensive compared to bulk sizes the packaging of which can be recycled.  I find it challenging to recycle absolutely everything in my area and I would really like us to subsidise better the recycling industry as now only the materials that can be easily reused for profit are taken.  One big change that I made with my family has been to travel less, and I haven’t flown anywhere for over three years

An artist works with and is supported by many other people and businesses such as collectors, galleries, shippers, paint suppliers and so on. How much can or should artists take an active role in influencing their stakeholders to make changes as well?

I think we can change the system in the world of art as artists through our demand for products. I have been thinking about canvasses recently, and sourcing hemp canvas.  Cotton production requires a lot more water than hemp, hemp is an anti bacterial and anti fungal material, it’s two times stronger than canvas, requires less water and CO2 emission to produce. Big companies such as Winsor and Newton should focus more on producing hemp canvasses, also we need more packaging of corn starch instead of plastic.  Liquitex and Golden can think of producing paints based on plants such as soya, and beetroot. That would mean less toxicity for the artist who is breathing them in if the studio not having enough ventilation.

Also collectors should be more open to idea of getting their artwork wrapped instead of crates because crates are bad for carbon footprint and its much more costly. Galleries can focus on online exhibitions and sold works could be sent wrapped in sustainable materials or rolled up.