Research Catalogue

The concept of performativity applied to liminal transformations because creative business mentoring needs more depth. Creatives, researchers and innovatives entrepreneurs do not fit into certain cathegories so they need a well grounded paradigm that can be differentiated both from rationalistics approaches and spiritual ones.

This research introduces Psychoformism, an innovative artistic style synthesizing form, emotion, and subconscious energy into a unified aesthetic expression. Positioned within the broader discourse of art history, Psychoformism proposes a fluid, dynamic visual language that transcends traditional bodily representation. The style aims to shift the viewer's role from passive observer to active participant by visually embodying internal emotional states as forms that emerge from subconscious energies. Psychoformism thus provides a conceptual and practical framework for exploring deeper psychological engagement and subjective perception within aesthetic experiences. As proposed by the author, “Form is emotion itself; emotion emerges from within the body and transforms directly into visual form.” (A. Babak, 2025)

This research explores the phenomenon of Cosplay as experienced by Cosplayers themselves through a subjective lens. A project that stems from specific personal attitudes and inclinations to the practice of Cosplay — コスプレ kosupure — in relation to japanese entertainment media. The focus of the analysis resides in individuals influenced to the point of bordering on obsession, surrounded by characters from works of Japanese animation, illustration and graphics — Anime, Manga and RPG — culminating in the practice of donating one’s body through the practice of interpretation, assimilation and appropriation. Consistencies and idiosyncrasies between assumptions and experience are addressed starting from Japanese imagery, cultivated by years of tactile and vivid experience of this practice as carried out in Italy. The impact and perceived impact of the journey facilitated a firsthand, lived experience through my month-long stay in Toshima, one of Tokyo’s twenty three special districts. The reiteration of this practice in the country accredited for the birth and export of Cosplay, put to test the skills and preconceptions developed over years of experience and virtual exploration. Analyzed the ideological presuppositions set forth by Luca Vanzella in Cosplay culture: fenomenologia dei costume players italiani, found within my personal experience in Italy, the same were used as a key to reading and interpreting the experience in Japan, analyzing points of contact and divergence. Through this paper I wish to document the vivid aspects of a research at a still embryonic state, without rushing to judgment. A vision that is not intended to be faithful to reality as a focused image, but rather as the perception of light imprinted in the first impact with the retina. It represents, in its essence, an investigation that reports testimonies and subjective experiences, exploring with individuals the value placed on their choice of character, the reasons for choosing to lend one’s body to such practice. The unambiguous presence of the self, versus, the assumptions of loss of identity and desire for escape in the link between Cosplayer, performance act and self-perception. Analyzing the relational dynamics between Cosplayers and those shared personas, with a focus on the figure of the otaku and the way it relates to this practice. This printed object consists of 2 main parts; the first visual and graphic and the second textual and theoretical. Bound together by the “japanese stab binding” technique, that has been appropriated in correlation to the practice of Cosplay. Becoming not only a physical link, but also a key conceptual and graphic element. Giving body and matter to the characters that make up the term Cosplay.

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023; BA Photography Research is the ground for exploring the world. My research paper serves as a guide in the sensorial and caring experience of the world around us as. Written in stages in which patients enter and experience the sensory room, the transition from history to the future opens space for discussion and implementation of observed practices in individual realities. The beginning chapters introduce radical movements in psychiatry while outlining the historical formation of disability as a social issue. Discussion around illness and disability is observed trough political and philosophical frame. Historical examples provide insight into how the space of the institution itself can re-shape into a progressing form, how the discussion about institutionalised people is de-stigmatised once the closed system of a hospital or an asylum opens to its surrounding environment, and how this can affect the position of healthcare, psychiatry specifically, on the level of a state. The chapters bring forward current knowledge around body memory and studies around sensory treatments in institutionalized settings. In this chapters, the body is not solely observed in the setting of a hospital or asylum, but brought in the context of perceiving the body as a social and cultural object. Short poetic digressions are moments of personal reflection, automatic writing that reminds me of moments when I saw the necessity to provide alternative models of care. The paper contains interviews and transcriptions of conversations I had with my commissioners. Through conversations with medical workers and artists, I reflected upon the current state of care provisions, ranging from institutional care to self-care. The dialogues show sensibility and understanding that a shift in healthcare towards the re-humanization of the ill is needed. Written in-between moments of working with materials in the workshop settings, research has acted as

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2022 BA Interactive Media Design After four years of studying art and technology in The Netherlands and having my own experience in search of an internship within the gaming industry, I came to realize problems that I saw in my earlier years with my mother were not limited to Turkey, and that it is a much bigger problem which spans worldwide. In this light of realizations, I decided to put together this thesis which will explore women’s role in the gaming industry with a focus on my own passion in story driven games.

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023 Photography In this research paper I aim to verbalize methods of working when portraying other people in order to find out how I want to tell the stories of people living in different social contexts than my own, through the realm of documentary making, in an honest and ethically justifiable way. My research consists of analyzing relevant aspects of the history of documentary photography over the last century. Through the work of artists like Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa, Nan Goldin & Susan Meiselas, a timeline is mapped out in which I recognize the role of the Western perspective and the changing dynamics within the domain of visual representation. Secondly, I make comparisons with the use of two case studies from the Netherlands. I describe elements of and reflect on the work of photographers Jan Hoek and Jan Dirk van der Burg, with both of whom I share an arguably similar background. By doing so, I counter their practices while verbalizing a way of working for myself. Lastly, the research done for the paper contains the tracing of my past, and the path that I have walked to come to this point. With the recognition of the privileges in my background, I have been able to better position myself as a photographer.