Hüzün is a concept in Turkish literature that connects to an atmosphere of melancholy. My work is an interpolation of these concepts to fit my observations of the contemporary environment I exist in. I reflect on my generation and my feelings about the world's current events, observing intense change while feeling dejected and separated from the rest of the world.
“Heaven was the place where you kept alive the dreams of your memories.”
- Orhan Pamuk, Snow
My generation is simply trying to find our heaven, but I am still quite unsure where to begin
looking.
Putting motifs that connect to John Szarkowski's windows and mirrors, I found my interpretation where I have always felt that the window is mutually constitutive. Meaning that while the artist observes the world from the window, the window itself has reflections. Therefore, while the artist sees their reflection, the world reflects onto them. The artist's positionality sometimes being defined by the world they exist in and its constraints. These ideas are conveyed, mostly in portraiture, through chiaroscuro, spotlighting, mirrors, and windows to sub-frame isolating subjects in the images. These practices are to employ this search for the individual to find positionality especially in art. This is why film cuts can be seen in the scan, dust is left on some images, and the artifice of image-making can be seen. Then connecting it with themes found in my ethnic background finding a place for it in the contemporary space.