Check out Varol Ozkaner’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Varol Ozkaner.

Varol, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Born in Istanbul, I was trained in Political Sciences at Istanbul University, soon after which I did my dream degree in Bachelor of Arts in Photography and Filmmaking at Edith Cowan University – Western Australia.

Apart from the very early works accomplished in Australia, my first gig in professional photography was shooting ad campaigns for global brands and various fashion mag covers.

What exists in real life is to be interpreted and exposed in a way different context than they actually are and serve for, rather than seen as is. This is what defines my philosophy. Referring to this, I threw myself into illustrative photography requiring loads of digital effort and patience.

I have always admired the concept of recording still images. …Images that get extracted off of the flow for good by means of a ‘click’… And the fact that even a simple camera is capable of giving you the access to tell your story has always seemed as much intimidating to me as it has been appealing. I suppose it is those feelings that trigger me to create. After many years of experimenting various types of photography, I ended up blending my digital design skills into photography so I’d get to make my way towards a phase where I can expand my abilities as an artist as much as I wanted. I love mixing up illustrative concepts with a unique taste of fashion and underwater photography I have been involved in since the mid-1990s.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do? Why? And what do you hope others will take away from your work?
As a photographer, I try not to limit my work with photography itself only. There is a great deal of digital illustrations integrated with photographic content in the majority of my images. I have been shooting portrait, beauty, fashion, underwater and landscapes for over two decades now which I basically make use of as a base that I compose with my illustrations in order to come up with a final image. You might want to think of this process same as cooking where photographs, digitally created drawings, and illustrations stand for the ingredients of the food.

I tend not to get inspiration from what I come across or what I get exposed to when creating an image, but rather get influenced by anything I don’t have physical access to, like things that I see in my dreams, deep oceans or historic events. I love the idea of showing things in a context that is different than they actually are. I believe introducing things in such a way is what makes art unique and diverse. Through my works, I want people to get exposed to works of art that deliver a new point of view.

Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
Dealing with financial challenges appears to be more complicated than it used to be. This, I believe, is brought about by the hi-tech environment we live in, that keeps developing and changing at a great rate. As a digital artist, I am required to invest on photographic gear and specific software constantly which go outdated so soon and never last longer than a year. To be able to handle monetary challenges, it is a Must Do to be active on social media which in long-term leads the artist to connect with their potential consuming society and build up a solid reputation. Trying to stay away from cookie-cutter kind of stereotypes when creating art can be considered a challenge too. To get to overcome this, we need to focus on what we can deliver by means of our own talent, but not what others create. And no need to mention that we all need to keep working and creating.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I have done a number of exhibitions within the past 20 years in Australia and Turkey. But I rather have people see my work online, as this way my work becomes accessible to anyone regardless of where they are. My work can be seen by visiting my personal website.

www.varolozkaner.com, www.instagram.com/varolonline/, www.facebook.com/VarolOzkanerPhotography/.

My works can be acquired by reaching out to me through https://varolozkaner.com/contact-us, and my social media accounts which I have mentioned above.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://varolozkaner.com/
• Email: varolozkaner@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varolonline/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VarolOzkanerPhotography/

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