saglam art
I started saglam art in 2021 during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Shortly before the pandemic, in 2019, I acquired an old and damaged oil painting with the idea of “spicing it up” by repairing it and adding my own touch. The result was “Landschaftsidylle Prototyp I“, which marked the beginning of my ongoing “Upcycle” series, where I add new imagery to old, tacky prints and original artworks inspired by early surrealist works. This project laid the foundation for what would later evolve into saglam art. In 2020, this first comprehensive series was displayed during an exhibition in collaboration with Kollektiv K, a German creative collective based in Aalen, and later, in 2021, in Tübingen.
The social-distancing measures and lockdowns during the pandemic provided me with the opportunity to focus on my creative works. The sheer necessity of keeping oneself busy at home for months resulted in my ongoing “Evening Walk Series“—a line of digital drawings that are available as limited, hand-signed fine art prints. A selection of these works has been on display in Hamburg at the Urban Shit Gallery during their annual Urban Art Edition exhibition.
Also during the pandemic, I developed the idea for a music-festival-themed, Where’s Waldo-like children’s book. After presenting my ideas and convincing the CEO of the Summer Breeze Open Air festival, this concept evolved into the world’s first metal-festival-themed busy book for children. After countless hours of work, this book was finally published in 2024, at the 25th-anniversary edition of the festival and is now available for sale.
Since then, I have been contracted by various clients, ranging from private individuals to professionals from the music industry, bands, and publishers.
clients
biography
I am Koray Saglam, an artist and self-taught multimedia designer, with formal training as a political economist holding a doctorate in political science.
As a kid, I always wanted to become a comic artist. But as fate would have it, I first took a detour through academia, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in International Economics, a Master of Arts in Comparative Politics, and a doctorate in Political Science. However, I never lost sight of my passion for art and design and continuously taught myself what I needed to realize my visions.
From 2011 to 2015, I studied at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and spent a year as an exchange student at California State University, Chico, USA. During my time abroad, I enrolled in creative classes such as drawing and radio industries—a class where I developed and hosted my own radio show on CSU Chico’s student radio station, KCSC.
In 2013, I joined the deathmetal band NECROTTED as a bassist. From then on, I engaged in all multimedia activities associated with the band: designing merchandise, developing visual concepts for our albums, conceptualizing, producing, and editing music videos, and producing hours of online content. With this band, I have toured eleven countries, played at iconic festivals such as WACKEN, Alcatraz, and Summer Breeze Open Air, and contributed to numerous album releases and music videos.
During my master’s degree program at Tübingen University from 2015 to 2018, I spent half a year at the American University in Cairo, Egypt—a time that was incredibly important for my creative development. I brought my analog camera with me and started exploring photography. My films were then developed by the Contemporary Image Collective (CiC), a Cairo-based independent collective of young aspiring artists, and subsequently displayed in my first solo exhibition in downtown Tübingen.
After my MA, I pursued a Ph.D. in Political Science and worked as a research associate at Tübingen University from 2018 to 2024. I quickly learned that my creativity is invaluable in analyzing, understanding, and explaining complex phenomena.
Likewise, I also realized that my analytical skills and passion for social and political phenomena enhance my capabilities for clear communication, both visually and verbally.