We recently connected with Ates Isildak and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ates thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I am currently getting ready for my 2nd solo show. It will be at MTN Space Gallery in Lake Worth September 16. I’m really looking forward to this one because it will be my first time showing a large body of work. Digital prints, short films, and polaroids. I didn’t come up with a way to incorporate my music, but we do have a live set from Richard Vergez of Night Foundation. It’s going to be an immersive evening.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a photographer and videographer creating in Palm Beach County. My first steps as an artist began with music, as a member of many bands. In time I transitioned to videography, specializing in music videos. Music videos were the first works of art I ever appreciated or understood. Then I began exploring digital photography and now primarily focus on polaroids. I’m trying to find ways to merge these different formats, presenting my art in a unified manner, like different branches of the same tree.

Some accolades. In 2019-20, I was a recipient of the South Florida Cultural Consortium, and in the South Florida Cultural Council’s 2021 Biennial, I received the third prize. Recently, I premiered an Art in Public Places documentary at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. Additionally, my work has been showcased at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Spectrum Miami, and the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. My video creations have been featured by Medium, Troma, Spin, FLOOD Magazine, Office Magazine, Consequence of Sound, and VICE.

I am currently working on a public art installation for Northwood/City of West Palm Beach that is an audio based project. I haven’t gotten to show anyone this work yet, but I am excited for it to be installed and showcased, looking like October of this year.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Working with others. I’ve always dreamed of making art on my own, in a solitary way. Let’s say, as a painter, or writer. Those methods of creation never ended up being where my talents were, so I explored music, video, photo. And though these can be approached on ones own, they are primarily collaborative efforts. Live music, being in a band, that has you working with other musicians, sound techs, promoters, audience, etc. Videography, my music videos, were always a collaboration between me and an artist or band. Photography, at least for my portrait work, there is at least one subject. Usually someone I’m just getting to know, or some I’ve known and getting to know better. Even my candid polaroids, I may not know the person at all, but sometimes some sort of friendship, or at least connection, begins from the exchange. A finished piece of art is the goal, but the community, and relationships, they have been the most rewarding aspect of being an artist.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Don’t dream it, be it. I think I spent half my life dreaming of the life I wanted to live, or the art I wanted to create. And I watched so many talented people give up on their gifts or dreams, for any number of reasons, before anyone had ever even seen their work, or heard their music. I started realizing that romanticizing everything, and living in daydreams, that really is supposed to be step one. And if you don’t take a second step, they are about as impactful to your life, and your friends, and your community, and your journey as an artist, as the dreams you have when you’re asleep. They are meaningful, but only to you, and usually half forgotten.

I make art in a very unromantic way. Kind of the same way I do dishes or laundry. Out of necessity, and with very little sentiment. Not to say I don’t love what I do, or what I create. I truly do. But the act of creation has gone from being a daunting mountain to climb, and more like a simple daily function. That has taken all the weight of being an artist off of me, and let it become a part of my daily life in some way or another.

This may not work for everyone, but it works for me, and I recommend it to everyone. Spend less time dreaming and romanticizing, and more time creating, and living the life you want to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.strangewaverecords.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strangewaave/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8PLGJ47SIBVrNOLwTBedw

Image Credits
My headshot photo – Noirsarc