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Joshgun Suleymanov Some photographers document the world they find. Joshgun Suleymanov wants to take that familiar world and make us question what, exactly, we are looking at.
An independent visual artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Baku, Azerbaijan, Joshgun creates experimental photography using physical and optical techniques in camera rather than constructing his images afterwards through digital editing. Everyday reality is still there, but altered through his way of seeing it: a mannequin becomes an otherworldly presence, familiar shapes become uncertain, and ordinary scenes seem to hover somewhere between reality and dream.
Ascending Soul ©Joshgun Suleymanov Joshgun’s desire to create images began long before he knew what form that creativity would eventually take.
“As far back as I can remember, I wanted to become a filmmaker. I just didn’t know where or how to begin.”
Music and painting had fascinated him since childhood, but photography found its place when he began taking pictures with an old Nokia phone. That simple beginning became his entry into visual art.
Photography would eventually become far more than a means of recording what was around him. After years of street photography, Joshgun began searching for something recognisably his own: not simply photographs of the world, but a personal visual language.
Distorted Reality ©Joshgun Suleymanov Joshgun most often uses a Fujifilm X100S, although equipment itself is not the centre of his photography. At times he has spent months working with toy cameras, including cameras capable of producing an immediate print.
The X100S originally appealed to him because of his background in street photography. Its small size allowed him to work without the camera dominating the encounter.
“When people see you with a large camera, they often freeze up, but with a small camera, they usually don’t take you seriously, which creates a comfortable environment.”
He later moved to a Sony α6500 for its adaptability, particularly the range of lenses he could use and its versatility for small film projects.
Ultimately, though, his allegiance is not to a particular camera.
“For me, the main point isn’t the camera itself, but what I want to express through it.”
The Weight of Silence ©Joshgun Suleymanov One of the most distinctive aspects of Joshgun’s practice is what happens after he takes a photograph.
Essentially, nothing.
He does not digitally edit his photographs. For Joshgun, this is not simply a preference but a discipline. The finished image must be created at the moment of capture.
“It is essential for me that the photograph is fully formed at the exact moment of capture.”
Even sensor dust can remain. He may remove it if it becomes particularly intrusive, but usually chooses not to. Those tiny imperfections belong to the physical act of making the photograph and, for him, help preserve its real character.
That makes the strange visual effects in his work particularly compelling. They are not digital inventions added afterwards. They originate in the physical and optical experimentation taking place between subject, camera and photographer.
Echoes From The Unseen ©Joshgun Suleymanov The turning point in Joshgun’s photography arrived in one of the least predictable places possible: while he was asleep.
He had been photographing the street but was increasingly conscious that he wanted a signature of his own, something that would make a viewer recognise his work without first seeing his name.
Then, one night, he dreamed of a visual concept.
He woke in the middle of the night with an idea for a particular photographic method and, rather than waiting until morning, immediately tested it.
It worked.
“I was amazed to see that it actually worked. From that day on, I shifted my entire artistic approach, and today I work primarily with the technique I discovered that night.”
For Joshgun, this was more than the discovery of a photographic trick or technical process. It changed the way he understood photography itself.
“It wasn’t just a technical discovery; it was the turning point in how I view photography.”
The Anatomy of a Dream ©Joshgun Suleymanov Unsurprisingly, Joshgun chooses photography over editing when asked which part of the process excites him most.
“The core element for me is the moment of shooting: searching, observing, encountering something, and filtering it through my own vision.”
That idea of filtering reality through his own perception runs throughout his work.
One of his favourite photographs began with nothing more exotic than a mannequin in a shop. The object itself was entirely ordinary. Joshgun photographed it so that the familiar display figure appeared to become something else, an entity belonging to another reality.
That transformation is precisely what interests him.
He does travel when finances allow, but rejects the idea that compelling photography requires distant or exotic locations. An ordinary object nearby can become extraordinary if the photographer learns to see it differently.
The Face of Perception ©Joshgun Suleymanov Joshgun has never taken a formal photography course. Asked about the best photographic advice he has received, he admits that nobody gave him any. Instead, he developed advice for himself.
“The more you desire and the harder you work, the more you will learn to see.”
There is, however, no point at which he believes an artist has finished learning.
“Art is not something where you can ever say ‘this is enough.’ You must constantly work, search, and evolve.”
He approaches criticism with similar openness. Sincere and respectful criticism can act as a mirror, particularly when an artist has become too close to a piece to judge it objectively. An outside perspective can reveal something the artist themselves has missed.
Joshgun recognises that the internet has made it considerably easier for photographers to place their work before an international audience. He is less convinced that everything accompanying that accessibility has been beneficial.
Likes, views and popularity can begin to determine how work is perceived, regardless of the quality or meaning of the art itself.
“I don’t believe art can be measured by social media metrics.”
His own response is to resist the demand for constant content. Rather than posting simply to remain visible, he shares work on selected days and only when he is genuinely satisfied that it represents his artistic vision.
He is equally conscious that the internet has made unauthorised use of artists’ work much easier.
For Joshgun, originality matters more than feeding an algorithm. After years of recording the streets around him, he realised that documentation alone was no longer enough. He wanted to construct his own visual world and develop a signature that belonged to him.
The Illusion of Shape ©Joshgun Suleymanov Although Joshgun has not yet held a solo gallery exhibition, his work has already travelled considerably further than Baku.
It has been featured and published internationally, including AFB’s photobook Land of Fire Through the Lens in Baku, AnFond in Istanbul, Pexsel in Turkey, Progressiv Photo Festival in Denmark, TK-21 La Revue in France and Naahbox Magazine in Spain, where he participated in the Winter’s Tale group exhibition. He also placed first in a competition at Photo House in Baku.
Several projects are now ready for exhibition, including a photobook concept inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Bringing those projects fully into the world requires resources, something he is currently working towards.
He does not undertake custom commissions, although collectors who encounter his work at exhibitions can request prints of existing pieces.
The Theater of Shadows ©Joshgun Suleymanov Photography is only part of Joshgun’s creative world. Film was his earliest ambition and remains part of his practice, while music provides another outlet. He enjoys playing music and recording song covers.
His family took time to understand the direction he had chosen, but they now understand both his work and what he is trying to achieve. His mother, in particular, is a strong source of support.
And then there is Paris.
Asked what he dreams about when asleep, Joshgun gives an answer that could almost be one of his photographs:
“I dream of standing in Paris, holding a glass of wine, looking at my own artwork displayed on the wall.”
Perhaps it is particularly appropriate for an artist whose defining photographic technique first appeared to him in a dream.
For now, he continues working in Baku on new series and projects while managing prints and sales from his existing work. The search continues: not for the next trend, the next burst of likes or the quickest route to visibility, but for ways of seeing that are unmistakably his own.
Artist Links & Media
- Official Website: Joshgun Suleymanov Art
- Instagram: @joshgunsuleymanov.art
- Short Film, Gül (Flower): Watch on Instagram
Featured Music & Influences
Theodoros Angelopoulos, The Weeping Meadow, Main Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3a9f_4-4U
Andrey Tarkovsky, Stalker, soundtrack by Eduard Artemyev
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3a9f_4-4U
Gül (Flower), directed by Joshgun Suleymanov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3a9f_4-4U
Read the full article: https://ourartsmagazine.com/blog/getting-to-know-joshgun-suleymanov/
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Source: Our Arts Mag'