Jale Sezai

This body of work is as an exploration of self and is a love letter to the many characters I have loved across my life. I am someone who grew up loving film and television, and often took part in fandom, and fan-culture. A Fandom is a collective, community or subculture of fans who follow or support a particular film, series, person or team. However, I was always embarrassed of this because “fangirls” are often shamed, or looked down upon by not only the media, and even by others within the same communities, who fail to realise that these girls are the ones that really uphold these communities through their love and dedication to the media. It has taken me a long time for me to stop feeling ashamed for speaking about the characters that I love. 

As one of the main focuses of this work is representing the characters that have brought me comfort, this strongly informed my choice to work with yarn and knitting. The base of this work is a blanket which my mum and I knitted together over a period of 2 weeks, where she knitted all of the dark pink squares, and I knitted the lighter pink. Knitting is something I have learnt and relearnt every couple of years from my mum as my interest comes and goes. The repetitive action of creating each square, before crocheting them all together into a larger piece, really speaks to the idea that while all of these characters who I have loved, can be connected together to create a timeline like journey of my growth and change as I’ve gotten older.

1. I’ll never love anyone as much as I love you… or you… or you… or you… (an abridged version of a very long list detailing the many loves of my life), 80x60cm, 2022 (mixed media blanket with brooches), acrylic yarn, embroidery thread, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, balsa wood, silver leaf, copper leaf, sharpie, ink, galvanised steel wire, acrylic paint, grey pro resin, clear hard-fusing enamel, P3, mild steel, sequins, bronze, beading wire, readymade charms and glues.

 I’ll never love anyone as much as I love you… or you… or you… or you…

1. The Rudolph Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
2. The Peter Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, beading wire, glues, and found readymade charms
3. The Kovu Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
4. The Bernard the Elf Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, sequins, glues, and found readymade charms
5. The Edmund Brooch, 13x14cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, grey pro resin, acrylic paint, glues and mild steel
6. The Zuko Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, copper leaf, and glues
7. The Tenth Doctor Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
8. The Duncan Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
9. The Robbie Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
10. The Merlin Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, sequins, glues, and found readymade charms
11. The Peeta Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, bronze, and glues
12. The Eleventh Doctor Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
13. The Sirius Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, sequins, prey pro resin and glues
14. The Grimmjow Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
15. The Captain Levi Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
16. The Spike Brooch, 13x14cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, balsa wood, ink, sharpie, silver leaf, and glues
17. The Stiles Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
18. The Killian Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, grey pro resin, and glues
19. The Romeo Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, sequins, glues, and found readymade charms
20. The Jace Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, mild steel, clear hard-fusing enamel, P3, and glues
21. The Kenickie Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
22. The Draco Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
23. The Axel Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, bronze, and glues
24. The Nick Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
25. The Steve Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, balsa wood, galvanised steel wire, and glues
26. The Captain Boomerang Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, mild steel, and glues
27. The Huntress Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
28. The Dean Winchester Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
29. The Rick Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
30. The Dick Brooch, 13x14cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, acrylic paint, model figures, and glues
31. The Daredevil Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, grey pro resin, sharpie, and glues
32. The Jessica Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, and glues
33. The Punisher Brooch, 9x9cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, and found readymade charms
34. The Vigilante Brooch, 10x10cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, prey pro resin, sharpie, glues, and found readymade charms
35. The Johnny Lawrence Brooch, 13x14cm, vivac plastic, card paper, glass beads, sterling silver, copper, rhinestones, glues, grey pro resin and sharpie