Haiku Studies, 2024
These two short studies began with haikus I wrote before any images were recorded. Rather than using text to respond to a finished work, I was interested in reversing the process and allowing a minimal poetic structure to become the starting point for a moving image.
Haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic form often associated with a 5–7–5 syllabic structure. Its brevity leaves little room for explanation, relying instead on suggestion, atmosphere and precision. I became interested in using that restriction as a framework for image-making.
1
The exercise was not about illustrating the poems. Instead, the haikus functioned as points of departure. By reducing language to a few lines and limiting the number of images, I was interested in how little information might be needed for a work to begin forming its own associations.
2
The two videos also became a simple experiment in sound. Both were constructed through a similarly limited visual language: static shots, minimal movement and a small number of images. However, their soundscapes differ. The first relies entirely on sounds already present within the environment, while the second introduces a gentle instrumental score. I was interested in how these different approaches might alter attention, emotional perception and the relationship between the viewer and the image.
1
biraz uzakta
ancak biraz da yakın
sesin kaybolur
slightly distant
yet somehow a little near
your voice disappears
2
kaybolduğum yer
rüzgarsız da olsaydı
uçabilirdim
the place where I vanished
even without the wind
I could have flown
All texts, videos and images © Selcen Karatay