Deniz Bilgin (née Akçin), was a multifaceted artist who experimented with illustration, painting and batik. From 1974 to 1979, she received graphic design training at the London College of Printing (now part of the University of the Arts London). Following her graduation, D. Bilgin lived in Singapore and travelled across Indonesia, before establishing herself in Istanbul. She developed an interest in the batik technique during her time in Singapore and devoted nearly a decade to its practice. These batiks were featured in her debut solo exhibitions, which she inaugurated in 1984 at the Taksim Art Gallery in Istanbul and Dost Sanat Ortamı in Ankara, both renowned art galleries in Turkey at the time. Nonetheless, as a result of the dominant hierarchies amongst visual art genres in 1980s Turkey, her batiks did not receive sufficient recognition. Possibly as a result, the artist felt compelled to adopt techniques that were more closely associated with fine art. In fact, D. Bilgin began her artistic experiments with gouache in 1988, and eventually transitioned to oil painting.

D. Bilgin often developed images consisting of blended figures that evoke a sense of fluidity and the merging of the human and the non-human, as they are frequently situated against a bewildering and intricate backdrop. These works were regarded as mythical and were generally perceived as merely aesthetically pleasing and ornamental compositions. Nevertheless, a closer examination of D. Bilgin’s work, particularly of her unique choice of material, techniques and subjects, reveals her concerns regarding the conditions of historical and ongoing global injustices, which were informed by her lived experiences and cross-cultural encounters. For instance, the 1996 gouache painting Full Moon portrays two celestial beings gliding through the night sky, while illuminated by a blue moon. Appearing to be flipped images, with their plumage and cyclopean, pointed heads, these beings are encircled by another entity resembling a serpent. The artwork emphasises the notion of the Other, representing the unbreakable bond between oneself and the constructing other, and encapsulates the artist’s enquiries concerning realms beyond human existence.

In addition to her artistic work, D. Bilgin illustrated book and magazine covers. She actively participated in the formation of the Istanbul-based periodical Defter in 1988, collaborating with a group of academics and writers. With over fifty per cent of the magazine’s covers featuring D. Bilgin‘s illustrations, the publication acquired its distinctive visual identity and set itself apart from the serialised print publishing of the era. From that point onward, her illustrations adorned the covers of a variety of publications, including works of fiction and poetry.

In 1999, Bilgin’s life was regrettably cut short as a result of chronic mental health problems. Posthumously, her art has been commended by retrospective gallery exhibitions, such as those held at Gallery Nev in Ankara, as well as Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları and Dirimart in Istanbul. Her work has also been featured in major exhibitions of modern Turkish art, such as Modern and Beyond (2007) at Santralistanbul and I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women (2021–2022) at Meşher in Istanbul.