Ulas UYGUN

Child wearing sunglasses and striped shirt balancing on a geometric, mountain-like paper craft backdrop.

You’ll see 8 men in the artworks before you today. 

8 men who once stood tall in the face of violence.

8 men who now stand tall in the face of brutalism.

Illustration of a person with a cape flying above a stylized building with blue and gold patterns, against a light blue sky.

I painted each one of them with much respect and admiration for their courage and vulnerability.

I painted each one of them with ever more hope for a better future, knowing well that by celebrating their healing journey today, and speaking out to make a safer community, we’ll also be celebrating every other man who was once in their shoes.

VISUAL STORYTELLING

Visualizing the healing journeys of these beautiful people was one of the most rewarding experiences of my practice. I wanted to do my best to pay justice to the inspiring dimensions of commitment, courage, healing and personal rediscovery I found in these stories. So I came up with a visual system that made use of quite a few artistic elements:  

A person in a red cape and suit floating above a modern, angular red building with a large teal circle in the background.

I blended contours of the subjects into the background, using a grainy gradient fading into the background. This was a reference to their commitment to being present in the new chapter of their lives.

A person dressed as a superhero in a red cape and mask is floating above a red building on stilts against a blue sky background.
Two men in green hats and jackets sitting on a circular railing or platform against a red background.

I chose to create a visual contrast between the buildings and the subjects, emphasizing the liberating and positive qualities of the healing journey further. To this end, I painted all subjects in a dynamic pose wearing clothing that blows freely in the wind, while keeping the structures fairly rigid and dull.

A superhero dressed in red and white with a flowing red cape, flying in front of a large full moon behind three red smokestacks in a dark blue sky.

Theirs are stories about stepping out of the vertical as well as the horizontal. Theirs are stories about truly rediscovering oneself. Yes, healing is a deeply personal process but it is also one that takes on a collective quality when there’s room for dialogue.   

I chose to depict each subject rising above the brutalistic buildings in some way or another. This is my way of visualizing their commitment to healing.

Some subjects are seen wearing a playful blindfold, as if he’s playing hide and seek. This was an intentional metaphor I used for the theme of rediscovery. A blindfold is a striking visual touching on the theme of consent in the context of healing this time.

A postage stamp featuring a graphic of a man in a suit jumping in the air on a stage with a red background.
A digital artwork depicting two mirrored figures with long hair, dressed in jackets and pants, sitting on a ledge above a red stylized fortress with a cross on top. The figures are mirror images and appear to be floating or reclining against a dark background.

Some paintings feature two identical figures instead of one. This was another metaphor I used for the theme of rediscovering oneself.