There are over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, with English and Mandarin Chinese charting over one billion speakers apiece. But there are also visual modes of communication – incorporating images, icons and symbols to relay information. “I believe photography speaks,” says Burak Boylu, a contemporary photographer from Izmir, on Turkey’s Aegean coast. “People can communicate with each other through pictures. In my series, you will discover that each photo has something to tell us – even if it looks ordinary.”
Boylu’s work focuses on the small details that go unnoticed in everyday life. He uses an iPhone to catch unique instances, where lime green tennis balls and upturned chairs take centre stage. Abstract shots of colourful courts are intersected by bright white boundary lines. For Boylu, the process of close looking is meaningful. “Capturing moments and turning them into pieces of art is like a kind of meditation for me,” he says. The results are bright, vibrant and satisfying – popping with magenta, orange and red.
Forks balance against gingham fabric. Balloons are frozen mid-flight. Eyes peek through ripped paper. Whilst rooted in chance encounters, Boylu’s compositions stand out for their exacting gaze and crisp execution. Each object, shadow and colour appears as if carefully planned. It’s an approach that has led Boylu to be featured by numerous organisations, magazines and galleries including Architectural Digest, Broad, Noice, Apple, Humble Arts Foundation, Spaceless Gallery, VSCO and many more.
All images courtesy Burak Boylu.
1. Ada
2. Tennis 3
3. Tennis 7
4. Ada
5. Unnamed
6. Red Balloon
7. Red Cones
