One Way Ticket Please (blue balloons)

About One Way Ticket Please (blue balloons)

This figurative steel indoor sculpture is made by Derya Ozparlak.

Derya Ozparlak has been a full-time artist since 2006 and continues to create distinctively unique sculptures. Her finely detailed, figurative sculptures often feature human figures forged from steel held aloft by brightly coloured, shiny balloons. For the Canadian sculptor, balloons symbolize freedom and the idea of escaping conformity for a new, more inspired life. This is one of a new series where a male figure, dressed in a suit, is hanging upside down. Both hands are holding onto a suitcase, and his ankles are lashed together with a metal rope attached to three glossy blue balloons that keep him aloft. Ozparlak says the three balloons are intended to represent the past, the present and the future.

“This piece reflects the inner journey of individuals trying to carve out time and space for themselves within the fast pace of modern life. The characters depicted here have moved beyond merely asking, “What if?”—they have taken a step forward and embarked on a new beginning. That one-way ticket, which so many people dream of, has become a reality in this work.” Derya Ozparlak

Derya Ozparlak is a Toronto-based Canadian multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans sculpture, animation, stop-motion, and installation. Her work delves into themes such as identity, white-collar culture, discrimination, cultural diversity, environmental concerns, and societal norms. Since 2006, Ozparlak’s artworks have been featured in corporate, museum, and public collections, and exhibited in prestigious galleries, art fairs, and symposiums across Canada, France, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United States, Spain, Lebanon, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Costa Rica.
She has received numerous awards and recognitions from artistic communities in Canada, Turkey, India, Spain, and the United States.
Derya is currently pursuing a second Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Experimental Animation at OCAD University in Toronto.