Dream of dimensions
Turkish photography artist Aydın Buyukta bends time and space for his surrealistic visuals that combine photography and digital editing
Istanbul-based photographer and digital artist Aydın Buyukta has been a keen science fan — and a dreamer — since childhood. He enjoyed reading science-fiction books by popular writers such as Isaac Asimov and HG Wells, and constantly had dreams about the unrealistic ships and fantasy cities he saw from illustrations in the Ringworld series. “In my dreams, which I still have now, I’m often in dangerous settings,” explains Buyukta. “I see pictures from different levels — one at eye level and one at bird’s-eye level. Sometimes there are even more dimensional views.”
Combining two such views in one picture was his vision for his 2015 photography project Flatland. The dizzying series featured 16 surreal 3-D-effect photos taken from iconic structures in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey, and brought the international spotlight on the artist’s body of work. In October 2016, Buyukta set out on a second journey for Flatland II, a one-month, 10,000mile solo trip across four American states — Arizona, Texas, California and New Mexico. From more than 1,000 photos taken, he selected 18 to 20 from different angles for each site or landscape, and achieved the 3-D “bending” effect in Photoshop by overlaying the pictures. The postproduction process took him two months.
His initial inspirations for the project began with a book — Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott, published in 1884 — that had been mentioned in another book, Hyperspace by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. “While I was reading Hyperspace, I was obsessed by the question: if a black hole occurred in the place we live, how would it bend the space, time and place?”
“Dreamy” is the word Buyukta chooses to describe Flatland II. From the final 19 photos he presents in the series, viewers are encouraged to dive into the artist’s multidimensional dreamworld. Exploring the possibilities of creating additional dimensions — and how to add them into his art — will be Buyukta’ next endeavor on his never-ending journey to explore the unknown.
I see pictures from different levels — one at eye level and one at bird’s-eye level. Sometimes there are even more dimensional views.” Aydın Buyukta, photographer and digital artist