Running from Everywhere but Myself w/ Çağan-THEFVKISBACK
Movement, speed and multiculturalism. These are more than just a few words to describe Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK. The motivation that sparked the first fuse of a collaboration or the common motivations that bring an artist and a brand together. Either way you look at it, Çağan crosses paths with us as he builds his own visual universe between the flight hours connecting one city to another. We are in a world that reminds us that movement is not only a physical but also an emotional reflex. Being free and original is essential here. In his life split between Istanbul and Paris, Çağan focuses not on fixed titles, but on rhythm, sincerity and the instinct to produce. His latest installation, inspired by Nike Air Max DN8, is not just a sneaker narrative; it is about escape routes, internet subcultures and the inner rooms we take refuge in when the world gets too much. In the midst of all this narrative-amidst glowing screens, tangled cables and hooded alter-egos-we talked to him about memory, identity and the art of staying in motion.
DUYGU Let’s start from the beginning, can you tell us about the turning points that led you to where you are now?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK THEFVCKISBACK My father’s sudden decision to migrate to France in the early 2000s. This is the EN. After that – between two cultures and long roads, separations and new acquaintances, the rewriting of my destiny. The redistribution of the cards.
DUYGU You are on an intercultural journey between Istanbul and Paris, how does this affect your production process?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK Long and ever renewing perspectives. Understanding the foundations of my own culture. – For this it is very useful to get away. – Then, the unreachable distance of the horizon. Developing my Cultural Sensitivity and Understanding in a life lived on a bridge. Through direct experience, to become deeply aware of cultural differences and similarities, to reduce my prejudices, to see the story more broadly and from a distance, and to exercise empathy.
Intercultural dialogues – collaborations I gained while living in different nations. Joint projects, exhibitions or performances here and there, deepening cultural understanding and as a result more universal and meaningful works, joint projects.
“For me, the creative process is not a finished point; it’s a constant quest.”
DUYGU How does “Freedom of Endless Escapes” resonate in your world?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK I can describe it under several headings; most importantly, the desire to be free from limitations and restrictions and the state of being in constant change and flow. Self-discovery and the search for existential freedom, which is the greatest art… I don’t want to escape the limits of artistic expression by constantly experimenting with different styles and techniques in my own, pure-art. My desire to be true to myself, to my needs, and not to what the market, the world, wants. For me, the process of creation is not a completed point, not a finished project, but a constant search. T E S T I N G 24/7. To finish, I would say that the boundlessness of my creative drive and curiosity is a search for different forms of expression.
DUYGU Can you tell us about this installation inspired by the spirit of Nike Air Max DN8? What kind of a dream did it come up with and how did it become a reality?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK The environment I wanted to create in the installation is the place where I felt the best in the world, my teenage room, where I spent long nights by myself, where I felt very lonely and at the same time I didn’t feel like I belonged. That’s when I started everything. The years when the internet was more fun and creative. My world before Instagram.
I have two assistants who accompany me at the beginning of the installation, they are my alter-ego. They sit at the table and look at the screen with their black hoodies and produce something without caring about the world around them. They produce and produce. They produce not to finish but to produce. My aim here is that my visual world, the photographs and writings that saved me, are a reflection of my mixed media works that I will develop later. Cables tangled around my feet, open screens, a black hoodie.
DUYGU Movement, transformation and experimentation are at the center of DN8, how do these concepts translate into your personal reality?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK My life is like DN8, it’s that mobile and fast. Today it’s Istanbul, yesterday Dubai, next week Tokyo and Taipei. I am inspired by movement and action, experimentation and learning, stimulation. I walk and exist with it. I am one of those who learn on the road. I improve myself by renewing myself, I break a very good job for no reason. I start again, I look at it from a different angle. I will learn again and do better. I am very impatient, but I train myself in production and experimental processes.
“My life is just as dynamic and fast as DN8. Istanbul today, Dubai yesterday, Tokyo next week… I am inspired by movement, experimentation, learning, stimulation.”
DUYGU What inspires you the most in Istanbul?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK There are so many elements, events, subjects, stories and histories that inspire me here; I think I will need a few more lives to do what I want here.
The mystical atmosphere of Istanbul, and the rhythm of its daily life, the fastest! The irrationality, emotionality and childish analysis of events of our culture. The texture of history, its combination and even contrast with the traces of the present – the human being.
I love this place so much and miss it when I am away.
DUYGU How do you choose the subjects of your photographs?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK Firstly personal interest and passion, secondly exploration and experimentation and of course people. Since I first started photography, my focus has always been on people and subcultures. It was not a conscious choice. Underground clubs, sex workers, gender identity confusion and I found myself through photography and the people I met through it. I am a curious and passionate person. You should also ask yourself questions, how can I photograph this or that subject from different angles or differently, how can I tell this story in my own way? What emotions does this subject evoke in me? How does it make me feel?
DUYGU The most important element that distinguishes photography from other art disciplines for you?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK Maybe there is a direct connection to reality and life, to human beings (from my point of view). Then the experimental spaces that digital or analog photography gives. The instantaneity of photography. The ability to stop time wherever I want and to bend reality.
Another important detail is the speed of production, I can’t imagine myself working on a painting for 6 months.
“The most important thing is self-confidence and self-acceptance. I believe that the biggest enemy of the artist is himself. Himself and his self-doubts. Being able to overcome this is a relief, being able to control this gives strength. And being able to be satisfied is necessary for authenticity.”
DUYGU How do you define being original?
Çağan – THEFVCKISBACK Originality is not a static state. It is a living thing. The artist must be open to constantly trying new things, learning and improving himself/herself. And he/she has to work hard! Most importantly self-confidence and self-acceptance. I believe that the artist’s biggest enemy is himself. Himself and his self-doubts. Being able to overcome this is a relief, being able to control it gives strength. And being able to be satisfied is necessary for authenticity. An unsatisfied art, like a morsel swallowed without chewing, gives no pleasure. It doesn’t cut. I can’t leave the table hungry.
The artist needs a unique identity and recognition, and I am in favor of finding it spontaneously without forcing it. Looking for “inspiration” by scrolling on the screen is self-deception. It is necessary to act with emotions as they come from within.
Photographed by Emirkan Cörüt