A duo, father and son, in Türkiye's capital Ankara, brings stories, unforgettable movie characters and scenes to life through the art of diorama.
Murat Can and his son Ediz Can have been practicing the art of the diorama, which involves the three-dimensional modeling of a moment or story using lighting effects, for a long time. For this, they have decorated their home with more than 3,000 models they have made together over the past eight years.
It started with Murat Can's gift to his son, Ediz Can, which has become a shared passion and an incredible career. When Murat gave Ediz a model as a gift to encourage his studies, little did he know that it would spark a love for the art of dioramas. Now, the father and son duo spend hours in their workshop, creating intricate scenes and models, some depicting products from the national defense industry. Their passion for the art form has even led them to turn one of the rooms in their house into a workshop, where they spend much of their free time.
One of the notable recreations of movie scenes made via diorama is "Gone in 60 Seconds," a high-octane action-thriller film directed by Dominic Sena and starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Giovanni Ribisi. The film centers around Memphis Raines, a former car thief forced out of retirement to steal 50 cars in one night to save his brother's life. With a star-studded cast and thrilling car chase scenes, "Gone in 60 Seconds" is a classic adrenaline-fueled film that has become a cult favorite among action movie fans. In the duo's work, the iconic Mustang from the movie is the ultimate prize for Nicolas Cage's character, Memphis Raines can be seen as it is recreated in a scene of the gas station.
However, when they first started creating these masterpieces, the response from their community was not entirely positive. Some people questioned why they would want to "play with toys." Despite this initial skepticism, the father and son persevered, and as their work became more well-known, their community's attitude shifted. Now, people even submit special orders for specific models.
Even though they create a wide range of characters from comics and other productions, Ediz Can's sole focus is creating dioramas of film scenes. His room is filled with models of science fiction, action and horror films, as well as video game scenes. He finds joy in decorating his room with his creations, and his passion has led to an active social media following on their account called "Diorama Sanat," where they share their creative process with others.
According to the duo, each model takes approximately 30 days to complete, but the time and effort are worth it for Murat and Ediz. Their passion has not only brought them closer as a family but has also given them a newfound career that they never expected.
Another prominent character they have created is Kratos, the main character of the "God of War" video game series that depicts a Spartan warrior tricked into killing his family by the Greek gods. Seeking revenge, Kratos becomes a servant of the gods and embarks on a journey to destroy the Olympian gods, including Zeus, the king of the gods.
