We were in the studio of sculptor Kağan Toros, who embodies the questions or issues he thinks about with analog and digital production methods by focusing on form sharing his space with his dog Omo.
The figurative sculptures you produce are about visualizing the phenomena you examine. How do you construct the concrete narrative you want to tell in your works?
Every human being lives their life and puts into practice the acquisitions they obtain due to their experiences, consciously or unconsciously. For example, I have recently become very interested in the awareness part here, which is how to ask questions without being bound by the belief that the world we perceive as a result of the images we have previously recorded in the mind is limited to the imagery of words. To elaborate on this issue, from the moment our consciousness develops, we are constantly bombarded with information beyond our self-consciousness, and we do not adjust the truth, falsity, or relativity settings of most of this information. It is imposed on us, taught to us, dictated to us, and we accept it as true or real. This is the system. If a system that excludes the questioner were independent of all these teachings and the accepted reality, if human perception were free from the codifications to which it has been exposed since childhood, if it were to start its journey of self-evolution only in its reality and based entirely on its personal experiences, how would it perceive what is going on? Therefore, as I deepen this interest, I raise more detailed questions on the subject. One question among the intellectual results I have obtained by living and researching is: Can a human being attain choiceless awareness? The questions and answers I have worked on for many years have been similar. For example, it was the question of what kind of a body a human being who could be free of concepts such as language, religion, gender, race, etc., which the system has brought and attached to humanity, could take in a non-gravitational environment.
As an artist who has worked on his subject for a long time, how do you determine your focus during transitional phases?
I think it is the same for everyone. As a result of the questions I ask, the answers I seek in the journey from thought to a more physical medium naturally direct my perception. For example, just as we make a phenomenon we pay attention to more visible in our lives willingly or involuntarily, the subjects I deal with naturally become the focus.
What does it say about your approach that your production outputs through analog and digital modeling are equivalent to what you planned?
I have mastered the digital modeling part for a year. For a very long time, apart from my conceptual orientation, I have been trying to make my knowledge of anatomy as accurate as possible. Specific programs make it faster for me to get this information. For example, when I start working physically, it takes longer to pile the clay than digital. But this does not mean that digital is better or worse. What I mean is that sculpture is a language of creating a form, and the sound, description, and content of the speaker of this language, the interpretation of what the listener reads or hears, that is, the phenomenon that makes you feel is essential. I think this eliminates the importance of the material or the media created.
Which metaphorical games do you like to use in your material choices in line with the subject of your sculpture?
When the sculpture is finished, I don't think about the result, the material, or which material it is because the form is always infinite, and the form of the images I describe is the most crucial issue for me.
What are your companions that relax and inspire you during the production process?
Of course, nature. The most natural layer of an effortless state of being always fascinates me, and the aesthetic images it makes me feel are very relaxing and endlessly inspiring. I think this is the most accurate answer to this question. Nature is also responsible for everything we discover or transform due to the formation of all the images we feel are entirely our own. Therefore, everything I read, watch or do nature research is the accumulation of human experiences. It is again the result of effortless nature. For this reason, it is essential for me to feel nature, even in areas where I do not think that I am in it.
How do Dyson technologies make your studio an ideal place for creativity?
Since my studio is in Maslak Oto Sanayi, I can't interact with nature during my production process. Thanks to Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde™️, the air I breathe in my atelier allows me to feel this sensation. Music is one of the most important elements that refreshes my inspiration in my workshop. Thanks to the Dyson Zone headphones' advanced active noise cancellation feature and the battery developed for long-term listening, I can work for hours with focus.
