The Way of Wonder by Karya Öner

The Way of Wonder explores the transition from childhood to adulthood, focusing on the subconscious mind’s role in preserving childhood memories, emotions, and fleeting impressions. This project examines how the sense of playfulness, imagination, and freedom that define childhood gradually fades as societal expectations and responsibilities take hold in adulthood. Through my paintings, I aim to visualize the dreamlike, emotional fragments stored in the subconscious scenes, colors, and sensations that shaped our early perception of the world but often become suppressed over time. By merging these elements with figurative expression, I seek to capture the contrast between childhood’s spontaneity and adulthood’s structured reality. Inspired by the expressive, figurative techniques of artists like Adrian Ghenie and Egon Schiele, I use human forms and body movements to emphasize the performative nature of adulthood. My paintings incorporate bold, vivid colors to reflect the raw intensity of childhood experiences and the subconscious imagery we carry into adulthood. The figures I depict often exist in an ambiguous space, caught between movement and stillness, symbolizing the ongoing struggle between personal identity and societal expectations. For women, this transition carries additional layers of complexity. The expectations imposed by society regarding appearance, behavior, and roles can suppress individuality and creative expression, making it even harder to maintain the sense of freedom we once had as children. This project seeks to explore that struggle while offering a reflection on how we can reclaim a sense of play and spontaneity in adulthood.

Project Description

The Way of Wonder explores the transition from childhood to adulthood, focusing on how subconscious memories, emotions, and sensory impressions shape our perception of the world. As we grow up, we often lose the sense of play, spontaneity, and presence that define childhood, replacing them with societal expectations and structured realities. This project visualizes those fleeting childhood memories—the colors, scenes, and emotions stored in our subconscious—through expressive figurative painting.

Using large canvases and oil paint, I depict human figures to reflect internal struggles, exploring the tension between movement and constraint, identity, and self-perception. The expressive nature of the figures conveys the emotional complexities of growing up, especially the struggles of women as they navigate societal pressures, body image, and personal identity.

This project is also informed by Eastern philosophy, which emphasizes mindfulness and being present. After traveling to India, I started questioning the pressure to constantly be productive and began exploring ways to reconnect with a more intuitive, unstructured way of being. The Way of Wonder invites viewers to reflect on their own childhood memories, rediscover lost imagination, and consider how embracing playfulness and spontaneity can be an act of self-liberation.

References and Inspirations

Artists like Adrian Ghenie, Egon Schiele, Christina Quarles and Mickalene Thomas who explore the human figure in expressive and dynamic ways. Their work inspired me to explore the relationship between subconscious, psychological effects coming from childhood. Also working with self-perception, body image, identity gender and showing how our bodies and minds shaped not just personal experiences but cultural expectations.

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