Turkish artist Uğur Çalışkan, who is one of the representatives of the "post-apocalyptic art movement" in Turkey, produces his sculptures from various waste materials such as stone, glass, bone and metal.
The post-apocalyptic art movement has been represented in science fiction films and literature in recent years. Noting that the survival instinct is the strongest human quality, Çalışkan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the struggle to survive is prevalent in all living creatures regardless of their circumstances – an understanding that serves as the basis of his work.
Çalışkan said he often creates sculptures with various objects including waste metal and other technological scraps he collects from different places. Like Çalışkan, many artists including Hamdi Çınar uses waste materials to create their original artworks in Turkey.
Çalışkan hopes "post-apocalyptic art can serve as an early warning to remind us both that the world is the only place in the universe that can be inhabited, and the value of life itself."
"I can express my work in the form of artistic fiction and structures that have been metamorphosed into an object of art using the mechanical structure of nature, the metal and technological materials that humanity has created by emulating nature, natural materials and even contaminated air," the artist explained.
He hopes his work will remind people that the world and life are very valuable and underlined that he will continue to do his best to achieve that goal.
Çalışkan, who also designs leather costumes for the Anatolian Fire Dance Ensemble, has 18 solo exhibitions.
