Now-here to now-here, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 150 x 188 cm
From the series of ‘While you are sleeping’
In his seascape works, Sukan manipulates his imagery connected to the constant tensions between the mental grasp of the specificity and representation.
He starts taking his pictures above sea level and contextualizes the scenes and brings out a new kind of perception. Now here to now here (2009), an image taken in Bosphorus, Istanbul, is a great example for duality of time and space. It evokes infinity, by being nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. At first glance, the viewer may not be suspicious of the situation but in close inspection, questions arise; if this is a night time shot, how come the ships in motion looks so sharp as if they are from a frozen movie still. The other side of duality comes out when we look at the full moon in the sky. The moon is in transit and clearly gives a hint that that the world or in this case another planet turns in its own axis. He creates an image that represents the duality of time, space in an undefined space.
The work also creates a transformation of the natural world into an almost hallucinatory alternate reality. By reversing the color spectrum in (Now here to now here, Disappearance, Destiny) the subjects becomes simultaneously otherworldly and wholly familiar at the same time.
Red blast (2009), the viewer is again left to their own interpretation. A blast in the middle of the sea and red clouds of smoke surrounding the whole scene evokes a post-apocalyptic scene. Can this be a scene of a war, a celebration or a navy practice? Beyond simply demonstrating the unreliability of photography as a documentation medium, Sukan shows us that a picture is never just the sum of its parts.
By reconstructing these environments from one portion to another, Sukan raises some of the most elemental questions about how we perceive the world we live.
Disappearance, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 105 x 134 cm
Destiny, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 105 x 134 cm
Visible, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 105 x 134 cm
Out of the red, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 105 x 134 cm
Artificial Blast, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 120 x 150 cm
Red pause, 2009, C-print in artists' frame, 120 x 150 cm
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, MAXXI, Rome, 2013
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Triennale di Milano, 2014
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Triennale di Milano, 2014
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Hotel Des Arts, Centre D'Art Du Conseil General Du Var, Toulon, 2016
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Hotel Des Arts, Centre D'Art Du Conseil General Du Var, Toulon, 2016
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Hotel Des Arts, Centre D'Art Du Conseil General Du Var, Toulon, 2016
'While you are sleeping', Installation view, Istanbul Modern Museum, 2017
Black box, 2010, C-print in artists' frame, 110 x 138 cm
'Hot Spot Istanbul', Installation view, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, 2013
Black box, 2010, C-print in artists's frame, 110 x 138 cm