Mavi Üstün’s approach to Portraiture is exemplary of the shift of the genre’s focus from pure representation to the narration of feelings. Through her delicate representations of figures immersed in moments of introspection, Mavi Üstün prompts the viewer to empathise with her subjects and question the condition of human beings in today’s culture.

Serpil Mavi Üstün’s work investigates the loneliness of the individual in contemporary society. Her canvases depict men and women carrying out mundane activities in picturesque scenarios: walking through the city, sipping coffee, buying flowers etc. Mavi Üstün presents us with the personal stories of fragile, perturbed, melancholic heroes, and hints towards the concept of solitude.

In these fleeting scenes that the artist depicts, her subjects display some personal eccentricities, also appearing to use a less direct style of communication. At times, these personas make us think that they are taking a sort of pleasure in creating drama. They seem indifferent, distant in situations or atmospheres that are generally considered to be joyful. The artist is in fact particularly interested in exploring the personal conflict we deal with in everyday life, showcasing how easy it is to sabotage our own happiness in situations that seem idyllic to the external eye.

For Mavi Üstün, it is in these contrasting feelings that resides the agony of the individual who feels trapped and oppressed by the social system. The protagonists of Mavi Üstün’s work also symbolise those who strive to fight back and react to the difficult circumstances that surround us. Mavi Üstün’s focus is thus not storytelling, but rather the subjects themselves, captured in a fragment of their lives which reflects trouble - the rest of the context is left to the viewer to interpret.