Turkish photographer Akif Hakan Celebi creates these amazing often story driven images. A large part of his oeuvre can be labeled erotic, however the nudity on display is always contextual and never plainly sexual.
How would you personally describe the nature of your art?
Sincerity meets the unexpected.
What artists, art periods, are an inspiration for your own work? And in what way?
Usually film directors like Wong Kar Wai, Jean Pierre Jeunet, Takashi Miike, Jean-Luc Godard with their sense of aestheticism,emotions and compositions and the Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki with his way of life.
Where are your ideas coming from? Does your work reflect your own erotic fantasies & desires?
Yes it does. My works are mostly improvisation with no planning at first. During the shoot it takes me into a direction by itself depending on the model and the environment. I enter it with an open mind and expect the same from my models. My subconscious also plays a big role in creating those moments.
What you biggest artistic frustration? Or main struggle in your creation process?
Finding the right models with the same frame of mind, especially in Turkey where I have spent most of my time the last 2 years.
Is it easy to find places to display your work? ( galleries, museums or shows )? Or is erotic art still somewhat taboo in your country?
I did not spend much time to find places to display my work since it is not my first priority at the moment. However when it comes to magazine publishing , I did not have any trouble getting them published , even in China which is considered a conservative country. One of my most provocative series about erotic asphyxiation has also been published in a very important photography journal based in UK . I think the sincerity in my work makes it less offensive to the viewers. People do not look at it as sexual humiliation.
Can you provide a link to a website that you consider a must, an interesting read, or an inspiration?
www.altphotos.com is where I have learnt a great deal about photography when I first started about 5 years ago.
