Turkish contemporary artist Arslan Sükan’s first solo show in Turkey entitled Why You Were Sleeping. New York and Istanbul-based Sükan originally trained in...
Who? Turkish contemporary artist Arslan Sükan’s presents his first solo show in Turkey entitled Why You Were Sleeping. New York and Istanbul-based Sükan originally trained in architecture and environmental design before turning to photography and his striking works have since been shown worldwide.
What? The exhibition introduces the artist’s photographs that question the illusion of the concept of dimension and the consequences of the modern day, using his unique abstract language. Sükan uses elevated perspectives that inspect the incidents and reshape architectural elements, creating a new spatial harmony. With the techniques of traditional photography and digital manipulation, the images become almost otherworldly.
Why? Sükan's graphic photographs, which make use of a strict red, black and white colour palette, are best enjoyed in situ. At first glance, the work Hidden Dialogue looks like a woman, wearing stark red lipstick, shrouded in a white veil. On closer inspection, it turns out to be a ship's hull. The darkness in his works rearranges several situations and stories of human life and the planet; as it does this perfectly, the far away ones appear close, the big ones appear small. Just like the vanishing of elements about us such as dimension, distance, and light, whether we are awake or asleep, as if they are a dream. An infinite relationship between the existence and non-existence of humankind in its own planet. While You Were Sleeping tries to capture this world in which reality finds itself a new meaning.
Arslan Sükan's While You Were Sleeping at GALERİST Tepebaşı Gallery, Istanbul until 26 March.
Text by Laura Bradley
