Ahmet Rüstem Ekici

Ahmet Rüstem Ekici is a multidisciplinary artist focusing on archaeology, the body, architecture, and optical perception. His series concentrate on spaces transformed through experience. While visualizing the relationships between gender, architecture, and the body digitally, he employs the narrative language of archaeological surfaces and objects. His works, which explore AR/VR, have been exhibited at Istanbul Modern, Mardin Biennial Invited, Ars Electronica Concrete House, CADAF Online, XX Art Flânerie, Museari Queer Arts Museum, YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Sonar +D, and Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival. He curated one of Turkey’s pioneering augmented reality exhibitions, “Hamam,” followed by the VR experience “Sauna” and the exhibition “Islak Hacim,” which focuses on toilets.

Selected for the American Arts Incubator Amplify 2019 by U.S. Educational and Cultural Affairs / ZERO1, he continues his digital work and explores the potentials of augmented reality. Ahmet Rüstem is a brand ambassador for the AR application Artivive and has been part of the “2023 Meta Creators of Tomorrow” program and selected for the Meta Open Arts program.

Born in Adana in 1983, he graduated from Bilkent University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, Design, and Architecture in 2008. He has worked extensively as a set designer and currently teaches “Designing Space for Camera” and “Illusion in Spaces” at MEF University’s Faculty of Design and Architecture. He continues various studies on archaeology and cultural heritage.