Ünal Baş (b.1996, Istanbul)

 

As a chronic observer, Ünal Baş creates works about others, who are actually us, while simultaneously attempting to reach them. To describe “the others,” he sometimes writes poems or stories composed of accumulated words, and at other times he uses his photographs to capture the mere existence of things under the light—things we often prefer to avoid seeing, things that lie beyond the visible. He continues to produce works shaped by the unbreakable bonds between essence and words.

 

For Ünal Baş, photography is intrinsically connected to concepts of control, possession, or belonging. His photography seeks to explore every possible future. In doing so, it doesn’t merely aim to capture nature and its context but also strives to reach a deeper understanding of its essence—something that lies beyond imagination, yet remains tethered to reality.

 

This is why emotions serve as the primary source of Ünal’s photographs. In his work, he endeavors to visualize emotions, while also exploring what images can reveal beyond their conventional limits. To preserve the sanctity of this emotional core, he turns to a secondary source: objects. He examines his desires and amplifies their visibility by engaging with things that resonate with emotions. At the same time, he enriches his primary source with a secondary existence. His photography reflects not only the representation of nature but also the infinite possibilities behind and beyond that representation.