Tuncsuerdas AMA

We had the pleasure of catching up with the incredibly talented artist tuncsuerdas, Creator of Shamanic Roots. Here’s what he had to say on a much anticipated AMA.

How long have you been an Artist? And where did it all start?

I have been an artist all my life. I was doodling on table tops in high-school. I studied Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at university. I did my masters on Product Design in Milano, Italia. There I started to take photographs, with an analog camera and two years later I decided to become a professional photographer. I have worked in the field as a photographer for 20 years. I have worked with many big firms in Turkey, winning a couple of awards. However after 20 years of professional stuff, I was bored. I stopped taking any more photo assignments. I began to play with Acrylic Pouring Liquid Art and mastered it in a couple of months. I made 3 exhibitions and gave many workshops. I did that for 3-4 years. And I was bored again.

Me and my girlfriend moved to an island in the Aegean Sea during the pandemic. This was my wake up call for NFTs. And the digital art journey started then…

Are you professionally trained?

I am an interior architect / designer / photographer and have been trained both in the schools and in the market for many years.

What was your first involvement in an NFT project?

My first drop was on ETH. It was a photography collection. However I did not know the ABC of NFTs then. The photographs got tons of good words and zero sales, however I have learned tons in those 4-5 months.

Then I joined AVAX and everything had changed.

Why did you choose to use the Avalanche Blockchain for your project and do you have experience with others?

I had experience in the ETH Photography scene. I had made tons of connections. I created 3 collections. Made many spaces, with famous guests etc…. However got just one sale.

I felt the community was too money oriented. I wanted to create as a team, but they were all single warriors. I did not like that.

Then my brother, Sarp Suerdas created a collection on AVAX and he said he was loving the scene. I have followed him to AVAX and man… I am grateful.

The community is welcoming.

I had started creating again with JOY.

Gas Fees are NORMAL.

Artists are collectors.

It was like a dream.

Please explain your creative process?

Well this is a hard to answer question. My brain never stops. I can say that. I always think of everything I should do all the time… Even when I am eating with friends, or swimming… My mind is always searching for new connections… I love the nature… I live in it…. So it is my biggest source of inspiration and I try to reflect what I feel in my drawings and photographs.

I want my audience to feel the same things I feel. That is my pure aim.

So yeah it all goes hand in hand. I do not have a brief… I like to free-flow when I create. I have a place to go, but I never care where did I end up.

My process is like free-writing… I do not think… I do it… much like dancing…

You’ve created Shamanic Roots, can you tell us a little bit about this?

Yeah, it is my most dear collection to this day.

I got myself an iPad just 3-4 months ago. I started to do the things I used to do on paper and liked the results… And was a bit bored of taking photographs… (Avax does not have a Photography scene much, I need the interaction to create more… much much more than any amount of money, I need the reflection from people.)

So yeah I was ready to play the “digital drawing” game. I shared my first 5-6 drawings as the first round of Shamanic Roots. People loved them and collected them all so I did 5 more… And 5 more…

Now I have 51 drawings in the collection. All collected by The AVAX except 3. So they all were well accepted which puts a big smile on my face.

I love creating…. I love reflecting… And I love getting reflected upon…

That is why I live and breathe AVAX, all day long…. This is the perfect place to create…

We’re guessing you’re a full time artist, when did this transition happen?

I guess I have answered this one before. Yes I have been an artist all my life. First an architect, then a photographer. Always a writer. Sometimes an amateur musician. And the rest of the times an analog/digital painter….

Not creating is much like not talking to me. I can’t do it. I feel like dying when the creation stops. I need that much more than anyone else.

So yeah I am an artist. And got no choice in that. I have to. = )

Do you have a favourite piece of work you’ve made?

The next one will be the best one, I can promise that.

If I feel I am not progressing, I will stop and start a new.

And I always love my oldest works… they are like looking at my childhood photos. I love to remember how I used to feel.

Where does the idea for the art come from? I notice strong bold colours, and they feel like a trip to a land of Ancient rituals.

I am very much into archeology and world history. I am a traveller for life. I spent all the money I made from professional photography to travel around the world. I traveled more than 30 countries with my backpack and camera. This is my biggest treasure. All the cultures I have lived in. All the people I met on my journey.

I feel like a citizen of the planet. The “idea for art”… Well these are just my daily thoughts…

I see “the life” as an experiment. I love to experience new things. It is like a big psychedelic trip. It is “just a ride”.

And it is not “just fun”. It always has deeper meanings….

So I am just playing around the zones that I love to talk about the most.

I always write stories to my drawings…. To connect the dots…. So I am kind of building a game for the Art Viewer to play.

If anyone gives any time for it, they will probably ask questions…

Which I live for…

There I can make connections with my collectors and friends.

This is the only way of communication I know.

So yeah…. Sorry for the thought train… but all is one.. one is all…

“Day 50 : Shroomaboom”
Shamanic Roots Collection

It was the 50th Day of the journey, when the Shaman of the Lost Island, stumbled upon the Shroomaboom. This was a giant mushroom, which was living since the first day of times. ++

(link in the thread)#ShamanicRoots #AVAXart pic.twitter.com/a0bv5pz70F

— tuncsuerdas (@tuncsuerdas) August 15, 2022

What software do you use when creating your art?

I use Procreate and Photoshop for digital drawings. Lightroom for photographs. And a digital camera to take the night sky shots to use in my drawings. I also use real paints… but as we are talking about NFTs, no room for that I guess. = )

Who or what inspires you as an artist, on-chain or IRL?

I have many… They all change… Sometimes a writer effects me more than a painter… Sometimes I look at a painting and start to play my instrument…

So the best answer would be “the community”. If I am living in a studio full of different talented artists, that is the place for me to create. Those conversations feed me like nothing else.

So I will not drop any names… because all the names have a different places in my heart.

However, I will just answer as “the community” & “the mother nature herself”.

Collaboration is one of our favourite aspects of the Avalanche scene, we picked up on a real sense of community support very early on in our experience of the space.

I love collabs. Especially the collabs with my fellow artists. You need to channel into their dimension to create a piece, which I find very challenging and fun at the same time. And yeah I have joined many many collabs and in my Shamanic Tribe project, 25 artists joined me… So I love my team… What can I say? = )

Leila took a long breath and started singing the Song of Life. The Shamanic bugs came by and joined the chant. After a little while, The Serpents of the Gaia slowly raised their heads from the ground. ++ pic.twitter.com/0rEsayq2Uw

— tuncsuerdas (@tuncsuerdas) August 21, 2022

I noticed you take some amazing photographs too, also that are full of colour too. Can you tell us more about this other medium and what it means for you as a multidisciplinary artist?

Photography is my right hand and painting is my left hand. I need both to create.

If you could own any NFT what would it be?

The ones I have already collected. I love collecting art both in real life and in the meta verse.

If you could own any piece of art what would it be?

Well I have a childhood love from my internal days. It is in the Uffuzi Museum in Firenze, Italia. “The Birth of Venus”. I do not know why? But if I would choose only one, that is the one.