Turkish photographer Cihan Öncü’s sees his work as a way of reflecting his inner world –photographing everyday objects and slices of life– but building a dynamic and atmosphere that brings a homey sentiment and harmony, from a unique point of view.
An eclectic artist, his work has also been published by W Magazine, Atmos, WSJ Magazine, Double Magazine, Document Journal and he is currently working, changing up between NYC and Istanbul.
What really caught our eye is one of his latest shoot, called ASMR, that was born out of the stress the pandemic created. How? The artist explains that, seeing everybody panicking and stressing over the start of the pandemic and restrictions, he was thinking about different ways people relax. Then it came to him. Hair washing. That simple.
Hair washing is such a simple, yet almost sacred ritual that everybody goes through. A way to wash away the dirt. The stress. The bad thoughts. A way of starting over. Starting a new day or, why not, a new life. A moment that is just blank.
Cihan decided to go to one of his friends’ hair salon and capture people’s exact moment of relaxation, when they get their hair washed. Everybody has such a different way of reacting, a variet of micro-expressions that the artist managed to present in such a unique way.
At the time, he had just heard at that point of ASMR, a trend that involves stimulating videos and audios that have a focus on sounds that literally make your brain tingle and put you in a good mood. Like the zipper of a dress. The ice in your drink. Your nails clicking against your glass.
That’s when he realized that ASMR described perfectly what he captured, so that remained the name of the project, a way of capturing a moment of pure bliss and enjoyment. What do you think, has he managed to do that?
Check out more of his work, on his website, right here.