Sarp Kerem Yavuz’s AI Polaroids from the Ottoman Empire
<p>Turkish-French artist Sarp Kerem Yavuz loves photographing handsome men. His various bodies of work include sculptural photo-portraits of nude male models adorned with projected imagery of ornate Turkish Bathhouse tiles, sensuous, homoerotic photos of young American men convening in sports locker rooms (another homosocial space), and mixed media including neons, works on LED screens, and a functioning backgammon board created entirely out of Legos.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/0*zFnZ3oS6YWhLJWA6" style="height:934px; width:700px" /></p>
<p><em>Sarp Kerem Yavuz, “Bahçivan,” 2022. Glicée print, 40 x 30 in. Courtesy of of the artist.</em></p>
<p>Thematically, Kerem Yavuz’s artwork is a reflection of himself: both Turkish and gay. These two elements haven’t historically been able to mix without conflict in his life, and he has always been interested in exploring those challenges. “For the last decade, I’ve been interested in deconstructing masculinity within an Islamic context. I often do this by queering (arguably already queer) orientalist imagery.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@artifactoid/sarp-kerem-yavuzs-ai-polaroids-from-the-ottoman-empire-cae72553ef19"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>