Based in Istanbul, artist and jeweller Aida Bergsen makes jewelry using a variety of motifs that represent reflections of her native village and its rich multi-layered artistic fibre. She draws inspiration mostly from mythological stories and mythical natural forms. Her jewellery is characterized by unusual proportions and unusual shapes, often achieved using a combination of modern and traditional techniques.
Aida Bergsen was born in 1969 in Greece when her family immigrated to the United States. Her childhood was spent studying art, literature and design at various colleges before she pursued a degree in Fine Arts with a focus on ceramics at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. During the course of her studies she worked as an art professor and taught for several years in the Natural Resources Department at the University of Utah.
Her professional career began at the beginning of the eighties, when she became one of the best known and most respected members of the team that designed the UVA/UVB filter for NASA’s Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii. From there she moved on to designing space suits for astronauts. In her first year as a space scientist, she travelled to Russia to witness the launch of the Soyuz vehicle which made history. Since then she has returned to Earth to be involved in many space related endeavours. Aida Bergsen will next be representing Turkey at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Berlin. There she will be singing and performing her original song ‘Particle Fever’ and will be representing the country that gave birth to rock and roll.