Untitled 5, From the series of "While You Are Surfing", 2014

Arslan Sükan  

Untitled 5, 2014 by Arslan Sükan From the series of While You Are Surfing Inkjet print on fine art paper Size: 150 cm. H x 100 cm. W Edition 2 of 5 + 1AP Unframed. Additional sizes and prints are available. All Prices are quoted as "initial price". Please note that prices and availability may change due to current sales.

 The physical gestures that make up our interactions with touch-screen personal devices are intensely intimate, yet abstract signatures of our everyday browsing and messaging patterns. In his ‘While you are surfing’ photographic series, Arslan Sukan scans the surfaces of smartphones and manipulates the resulting images in Photoshop to isolate and enhance the fingerprints, dust, and cracks marking the screens. Sukan separates the intimate swipes and taps of screen navigation from any digital content, enlarging the marks to form anonymous and abstract landscapes. Printed on highly reflective metallic paper using an inkjet printer, each piece mirrors the context of its place of display, transforming the physical world and the body of the viewer into virtual content for the image surface. But, unlike fingers on a screen, the reflections leave no physical trace on their object. With ‘While you are surfing’, Sukan questions whether our experiences with the digital world, which are mediated through a screen, are any less immediate or complete than our encounters with experiences in the physical world. ‘While you are surfing’ continues Sukan’s engagement with the role of artifice in presenting the real. Through a process that moves from the physical world to digital and back again, his work dissolves distinctions between matter and thought, gesture and image. This ongoing translation of material from one media format into other challenges viewer expectations at every turn. 

This artwork is a profound exploration of contrast and movement, predominantly featuring a black canvas interspersed with dynamic white brushstrokes. The textured layers evoke a sense of depth, inviting the viewer into a realm of swirling mystery. The interplay of light and dark suggests a celestial or cosmic scene, perhaps an abstraction of a starry night sky. The ethereal quality of the white forms creates a striking visual impact against the dense, inky background. These sweeping gestures convey motion and energy, capturing the viewer's imagination. Unique to this piece is its capability to evoke emotion through minimalistic yet powerful visual storytelling, transforming simplicity into captivating complexity.