Aşık (Lover)

Aşık, which is Turkish for someone in love, depicts an accursed member of the evil Sultan's elite Janissary troops, waiting outside a villa in Istanbul.

This work is part of my visual exploration of the answer to the question: Does evil die with them, when evil Sultans die?

How many people enable evil dictators to inflict pain upon the world by allowing them to rewrite history? And does being complicit in oppression strip you of your capacity to be human, of your capacity to love?

Growing up in Istanbul, where I often found myself bombarded with a reinvented, politically convenient version of Ottoman Empire's history, I decided to reimagine the past century as well.

I created a story where, after losing World War 1, the Sultan sells his soul in exchange for an immortal army. These images tell the stories of what came after.

Aşık (Lover), 2019 Dimensions: 4604x3000 pixels Unique Edition with Artist's Proof Series: Curse of the Forever Sultan