win.ju
I was born in 1997 in Manisa, Turkey. My artistic journey began in 2015 at Osmangazi University in Eskişehir, where I studied visual communication design. In 2017, I joined the Sculpture Department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, where I honed my skills in modeling and metalwork for four years. To further deepen my technical knowledge and expand my artistic practice, I pursued my studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in sculpture. During my time in Brussels, I developed skills in mechanical systems and electronics applied to sculpture, as well as exhibition curation. I am currently continuing to develop my projects in my studio in Brussels, where I participate in various exhibitions, residencies, and curatorial projects.
Artist Statement
Irony and sarcasm are the antidote to the human condition. Through their sculptures and machines, Winju orchestrates a raw and free therapy, an exorcism of inner and outer tensions. Each piece becomes a distorting mirror of our fears and desires, revealing the invisible dysfunctions of our bodies and societies. By blending the industrial aesthetic of metal with medical experience, they expose what should heal but ends up constraining, what promises progress but generates alienation. Their absurd and brutal machines operate while malfunctioning, like an organism under tension. This is how MEDICAL BLACK METAL is born: a dive into the paradoxes of care and control, where suffering becomes catharsis, where order cracks open to better reveal its absurdity.
Solo Exhibitions
2021, “Labyrinth”, Kırkmerdiven, Karataş, İzmir
2020, “w1n.ju”, Abandoned House, Güzelyalı, İzmir
Group Exhibitions
2024, “Point - Bascule,” exhibition of laureates, ArBA-EsA, Brussels
2024, “Blooming in the Stones,” Espace Vanderborght, Brussels
2024, “Cultiver, Sculpter, Végéter”, Le Botanique, Brussels
2024, “Bite my shiny metal ass!”, Mercerie, Brussels
2024, “Openspace : Variations”, ArBA-EsA, Brussels
2023, “Prix de la Ville d’Antoing”, Foyer socioculturel d’Antoing, Antoing
2023, “Fonte en Comble”, Eleven Steens, Brussels
2023, "Fragilité", Le Botanique, Brussels
2023, "E pluribus unum", l'Imprimerie & ArBA-EsA, Brussels
2022, "Rotation", Daragac, Izmir
2022, "Prix Tremplin", BeCraft Gallery, Mons
2022, "Exhibition Atelier Terre du Jardin aux Fleurs", Brussels
2022, “Apocalypse Celebration”, Boulevard Adolphe Max 26, Brussels
2022, "De Passage", Eleven Steens, Brussels
2022, “and then, when I sleep, without language of night, I do not realize”, See U, Ixelles, Brussels
2021, "70 artists 100 women", UNIQ Expo, Istanbul
2021, “Expo/Marché”, Garage, Annessennes, Brussels
2021, “Art.Ist.Sauna”, UNIQ Expo, Istanbul
2021, “Bazaart 10th Anniversary Exhibition”, Ferda Art Platform, Şişli, Istanbul
2020, “Balconnection Project Exhibition”, Space for Culture, Alsancak and Selçuk, İzmir
2019, “I ME CE Exhibition”, Hub Istanbul, Sisli, Istanbul
2019, “Comma Group Exhibition”, COMMA, Şişli, Istanbul
2019, “Art & Sound Exhibition, Pixie Underground”, TomTom, Beyoğlu, Istanbul
2019, “PatPat 6 Sculpture Department Exhibition, MSGSU”, Istanbul
2019, “5. Erdemir Steel and Life Sculpture Competition Exhibition”, Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center, Topahne, Istanbul
2019, “11. Terrace Exhibition”, Elgiz Museum, Maslak, Istanbul
2019, “METALIST Bulent Çınar Workshop Sculpture Exhibition”, Ziraat Bank Tünel Art Gallery, Taksim, Istanbul
2019, “Ulus Lions Club Sculpture Competition Exhibition”, MSGSÜ, Istanbul
2019, “9. Bazaart Exhibition”, The St. Regis Hotel, Nisantasi, Istanbul
2019, “Art Blend Sculpture Exhibition”, Four Seasons Bosphorus Hotel, Çırağan, Istanbul
2018, “Ipek-Ahmet Merey Sculpture Competition Exhibition”, MSGSÜ, Istanbul
2018, “Frequency Exhibition”, Grand Pera, Taksim, Istanbul
2018, “Ulus Lions Club Sculpture Competition Exhibition”, MSGSÜ, Istanbul
2017, “Ipek-Ahmet Merey Sculpture Competition Exhibition”, MSGSÜ, Istanbul
Residency Programs
2024, “Ruggine” with Alice Giuliani, La Bellone, Brussels
2019, “I ME CE”, Hub Istanbul, Sisli, Istanbul
Awards, Grants
2024, Excellence Award from the City of Brussels
2024, Wallonia-Brussels Federation Scholarship, research grant
2018-2022, Turkish Education Foundation, Outstanding Achievement, Artist Fellowship.
2019, “5. Erdemir Steel and Life Sculpture Competition” – Erdemir Special Award
2018, “Ulus Lions Club Sculpture Competition” – First Prize
Curatorial Projects
2024, “Bite my shiny metal ass!”, Mercerie, Brussels