Who are you?
I’m Uğur Engin Deniz from Turkey that goes by the handle Strange Quark. I studied physics. I’m a self taught new media artist and 3D generalist. Commercially I generally do installations, stage design/operation and projection mapping to get through the day. Hopefully nft will slowly change that and I’ll abandon commercial work to concentrate solely on art.
When did you start making art?
I first got serious in 2008 and found my footing around 2014 with the influence of Glitch Artists Collective.
What would you call your style?
It’s mainly 3D glitch, though I try to glitch any tool I lay hands on. 3D glitch is a genre that I consider came into being with influence of Mark Klink in 2014 on GAC and I followed suite right after (though other artists can be listed to be working on similar exploratory works never specifically naming it).
Also as a response to recently ubiquitous minimalism, I try to seek visually maximalist routes imitating natural patterns and fractalization/repetition.
What inspires your work?
When I first got deeply interested in cinema, I slowly discovered video art and experimental cinema of cinema’s early days. Specifically Norman McLaren, Oskar Fischinger and Man Ray influenced me a lot in terms of visual thinking and thinking with motion.
In terms of themes I’m interested in science fiction, especially the long term developments that I consider the path to transhumans, sociology of technology and other top level glances towards the possible road life can take in the future. I do a lot of figurative work not specifically because I’m interested in the human figure in a classical way, but more on the deformative side which I find both suitable to make imaginary beings far beyond human capacity and also to reflect my moods. In a way figures are simply wood to carve on.
I grew up as an excited science and technology affirming nerd. This took a much more critical path as I aged and observed what’s actually going on in the world and who benefits from it.
What does your creative process look like?
I sometimes go off from an initially sketched idea, but more often than that it forms up afterwards. This is mainly because 3D software, specifically accumulation of deformers and effectors cause emergent results that are impossible to predict. This is pretty interesting to explore for me with a glitch mindset.
We can position this approach within generative art that’s random and has infinite variations, however the unpredictability of outcomes makes mine more specific. Generally the initial results are incomprehensible, awkward and visually unpleasant. I dial various parameters down until it gets where I want it to be. This is very much fishing for something sensible with an aesthetic eye that I believe I do have.
When did you first hear about Tezos?
When I first arrived in the nft scene in april 2021. My initial landing didn’t last long though. I returned to it very recently.
How would you define bizarre
Hah I call myself a connoisseur of bizarre sometimes. I think bizarre is a thing that makes you doubt and second think your perceptions. It’s certainly not immediately revelatory, thus very alluring. It may have sometimes relations with the aesthetic and lure of ugly as Eco defines it.
Do any of your currently minted artworks stand out as your favorite?
If we are talking of any minted work, this piece holds a special place for me that’s owned by Chris Coleman, another artist and collector we share a common ground with.
In terms of still available ones this is the first series I made for nft. I’m fond of them, because they helped me figure out new techniques I’ll be using and maybe because they are very recent and born out of love.
Is there anyone you’d like to shoutout?
Vertical Crypto Art, Artnome, Mark Klink, Chris Coleman, Rubenfro, Nenad, Tuukz (Arthur Machado), Sky Goodman, Let’s Glitch It (Dawnia), Nonononono
Except the first there, all are present artists on the tezos scene.
Anything else?
If anyone wants to go through my past work they are present here:
Still | https://www.flickr.com/photos/131535165@N05/albums/72157653453196351
Motion | https://vimeo.com/engindeniz