Cem Sonel and Ramazan Can Turkey

Born in Ankara in 1985, Sonel completed his undergraduate education at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Graphic Design Department with an honorary degree. In 2009, he succeeded in bringing to life his childhood interest in street art, by co-founding the street art collective (KÜF Project). The guerrilla street art actions they carried out with the collective between 2009 and 2014 were the subject of many news bulletins in the mainstream media. In 2014, he was accepted to the Sculpture Master’s Program at Hacettepe University Fine Arts Institute. Moving his workshop to Izmir-Darağaç in 2017, he continued to work both individually and with the neighborhood art collective.

Sonel's works have been exhibited in many national and international organizations such as Berlin Art Week, Contemporary Istanbul, Sónar Festival, 48 Stunden Neukölln. He organized workshops on street art in many universities of Turkey, was invited to panels as a speaker, and directed sessions.

He introduced the first semi-digital Mural works in Turkey to the public audience at the mural festivals held in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. He still continues his research on the meeting of new media art with street art.

In 2022, he held his first solo exhibition titled "One and Zero Makes Two" at the Anna Laudel gallery in Istanbul.

Since 2020, he has been continuing his art and design productions in his workshop in Ankara.

Artist Statement: Ramazan Can & Cem Sonel

We, Ramazan Can and Cem Sonel, weave the stories born from our individual artistic journeys into a shared creative universe. Our art explores the layers of memory, the cyclical flow of time, and the texture of collective consciousness through the rhythm of the contemporary world. At the intersection of tradition and modernity, the tangible and the digital, our mediums converge to form a “third identity”—neither solely mine nor the other’s, but a trace of our combined existence.

As Ramazan Can, I draw inspiration from the ancient motifs of Yörük culture and the rhythmic geometry of woven carpets. The warp and weft threads of my carpets gather the building blocks of memory into a geometric order; when fused with the cold surface of concrete, they carry the warmth of the past into the stark reality of the present. Cem Sonel, meanwhile, probes existence through the language of technology. The pixelated pulse of LED panels, the algorithmic order of computer code, and the vibrancy of neon paints map out the meaning of the modern age in his works. The grid-like structure of my weavings enters into dialogue with the mathematical aesthetic of Cem’s digital screens, forging a bridge from personal memories to collective consciousness.

Our works reflect the harmony of contrasts: the warm texture of carpets melds with the cold surface of concrete, the abstract logic of code blends with the brilliance of neon. This fusion whispers that time is not linear, that past and future intertwine. Mathematics and algorithms form the invisible backbone of our creations, while the rhythm of weaving and the logic of code transform the dance of tradition and technology into a universal narrative. Our art invites viewers not merely to observe but to reconstruct their own journeys of memory.

Together, we create a space where the analog meets the digital. Pushing the boundaries of materials and ideas, we unite elements like carpets, concrete, mosaic, LEDs, and code—not in conflict, but in a new visual and conceptual harmony. This process compels us to shed our individual identities and redefine ourselves; we view our works from a critical distance, engaging in an ever-evolving creative dialogue. Our art carries the knowledge of the past into the future, inviting viewers to become part of this timeless journey.