Merve Özaslan is an Istanbul-based artist who creates collages using vintage photographs and images of nature. Her "Natural Act" series explores the relationship between nature and humanity by compositing images to reflect nature's dominance over urbanization. Erin Case is a Michigan-based visual artist who focuses on surreal collages combining analog cutting and pasting techniques. William Miller is a New York photojournalist whose work has appeared in magazines and who creates abstract art by manipulating and "ruining" polaroids in photoshop.

1. Artists as photographers
A01 | Zmina Hawthorne

2. Merve ozaslan
Merve Özaslan is an Istanbul based artist that creates collages, she has a
number of photos which have been coined ‘Natural Act’ which is ‘composed by
several collages based on the questions of the relation between nature and
humanity’. In the Natural Act, she mostly uses vintage photographs and
photographs of water barriers and nature such as leaves, trees etc. Each of the
collages reflect natures dominance over urbanization.

3. ERIN CASEAward winning visual artist Michigan based artist, Erin Case focuses on collages
who tends to put together surrealism and sincerity together in an image, Erin Case
uses analog methods meaning that she creates her images by hand, using the
cutting and pasting methods. Currently Erin Case is an undergraduate but her work
has been internationally recognized.

4. WILLIAM MILLERWilliam Miller is a photojournalist from New York, USA. His work has been featured in
magazines such as Harper’s and GQ and even the New York Post. Miller often creates
abstract pieces of art through photography by ‘ruining polaroids’ and photoshopping
his photographs to creates works of art.

5. INDEPTH ANALYSIS
ANALYSE Merve Özaslan’s work reminded me a lot of 3D street art
work as it works in the same way that the photograph does. In 3D
street work, it often creates an optical illusion which creates the
impression that the person standing on the art is elevated. In the
Merve Özaslan’s work, she creates the same effect in the fact that
the people in black and white look as if they are higher than the
trees in the photograph. This is because of the way the
photograph of the trees has been taken – from an ariel view,
montaging this photograph with the urban, black and white
photograph will create an optical illusion.
INTERPRET Merve Özaslan creates her work with the use of ‘photo
montaging’. A photo montage can be done on Photoshop in a
digital process, or can be done manually using the cutting and
pasting method.
JUDGE In my opinion, I like Özaslan’s work because how the two
photographs that she has put together work so well together.
Although, I would use photographs that have been taken in more
recent years.
DESCRIBE The photograph above is of two ladies laughing
together in their swimsuits. This photograph comes from the
series by Merve Özaslan called ‘Natural Act’ in which she tried to
show rural and urban environments in the same light.