The Creative Process and Collaboration
In the inaugural session of Can Buyukberber's Visiting Artist Series, Swiss painter Noemi Manser collaborated with Buyukberber in a week-long residency at his studio. The residency focused on exploring the intersection of their distinct artistic practices, blending Manser's expressive, large-scale paintings and murals with Buyukberber's expertise in architectural-scale digital art installations. Their collaboration, deeply influenced by Jungian concepts—particularly anima and animus—culminated in the creation of a prototype piece titled Animuse, which serves as a sophisticated dialogue between their respective mediums.
Manser, who has cultivated her artistic vision through a global journey from New Zealand to Basel, New York and Mexico City, found herself captivated by Buyukberber's work during her 7 years residency in New York. This encounter sparked the idea of expanding her art beyond the traditional canvas, leading to this unique partnership. Throughout the residency, the artists engaged in an intensive exchange of ideas and creative processes, gradually building a visual language that merged Manser's organic forms and free expression with Buyukberber's dynamic use of light and motion.
The collaboration revealed the potential for large-scale installations that immerse viewers in a multi-sensory experience, where the physicality of Manser's murals is enhanced by the kinetic energy of Buyukberber's digital projections. Both artists reflected on the profound impact of working together in a shared physical space, emphasizing the importance of human connection in the creative process, especially in an era dominated by digital communication. As they move forward, Manser and Buyukberber envision expanding Animuse into immersive environments that invite viewers to engage with the art on a deeply emotional and psychological level, bridging the gap between the tactile and the intangible.
In the inaugural session of Can Buyukberber's Visiting Artist Series, Swiss painter Noemi Manser collaborated with Buyukberber in a week-long residency at his studio. The residency focused on exploring the intersection of their distinct artistic practices, blending Manser's expressive, large-scale paintings and murals with Buyukberber's expertise in architectural-scale digital art installations. Their collaboration, deeply influenced by Jungian concepts—particularly anima and animus—culminated in the creation of a prototype piece titled Animuse, which serves as a sophisticated dialogue between their respective mediums.
Manser, who has cultivated her artistic vision through a global journey from New Zealand to Basel, New York and Mexico City, found herself captivated by Buyukberber's work during her 7 years residency in New York. This encounter sparked the idea of expanding her art beyond the traditional canvas, leading to this unique partnership. Throughout the residency, the artists engaged in an intensive exchange of ideas and creative processes, gradually building a visual language that merged Manser's organic forms and free expression with Buyukberber's dynamic use of light and motion.
The collaboration revealed the potential for large-scale installations that immerse viewers in a multi-sensory experience, where the physicality of Manser's murals is enhanced by the kinetic energy of Buyukberber's digital projections. Both artists reflected on the profound impact of working together in a shared physical space, emphasizing the importance of human connection in the creative process, especially in an era dominated by digital communication. As they move forward, Manser and Buyukberber envision expanding Animuse into immersive environments that invite viewers to engage with the art on a deeply emotional and psychological level, bridging the gap between the tactile and the intangible.
Reflection on the Residency
The artists delved into the profound creative synergy that emerged during their week-long residency.
NM: I’m Noemi Manser. I'm from Basel, Switzerland. I’m a painter. I grew up in New Zealand, Basel and then moved to New York. In 2010 I started to really focus all my life on painting and drawing. I saw your work in New York. I was already mesmerized there. I dreamt of seeing my art expanding in this way. I really want to transmit this feeling that I’m feeling when I’m painting. When I saw your work I just saw the immediate link and I thought it would be very interesting to try to merge it to and to work with someone who mastered his medium.
CB: My name is Can Buyukberber. I’m a new media artist. Interdisciplinary dialogue for me has always been inspiring. I think having a new eye looking at yourself and your process in your life from a different angle makes you realize a different level of appreciation.
NM: It was quite overwhelming. I didn’t come with any expectations. and to watch you work, It was very interesting to see how you approach it and how you included me in the process too. One day you showed me all your work and I absorbed it. The next day I shared my work. You did the same. On the third day we try to see where we can connect the two worlds in the best possible way and where we can also expand from there. because there’s infinite ideas and possibilities with what you do.
CB: When I was looking at your art, I saw what kind of composition you’re creating with the figures and the forms around them. I really liked this kind of free expression in the forms and how they’re becoming more and more abstracted in a unique way. There is a similarity in terms of patterns and aesthetics, and the color palette that I also use in my work. When you dive into it and pay more attention you realize the details and the figures and how they’re surrounded and how the forms are all interconnected with each other. Adding movement and a light layer on top of that tactile feeling and texture of the canvas, the whole becomes bigger than the sum of its parts.
NM: I’m Noemi Manser. I'm from Basel, Switzerland. I’m a painter. I grew up in New Zealand, Basel and then moved to New York. In 2010 I started to really focus all my life on painting and drawing. I saw your work in New York. I was already mesmerized there. I dreamt of seeing my art expanding in this way. I really want to transmit this feeling that I’m feeling when I’m painting. When I saw your work I just saw the immediate link and I thought it would be very interesting to try to merge it to and to work with someone who mastered his medium.
CB: My name is Can Buyukberber. I’m a new media artist. Interdisciplinary dialogue for me has always been inspiring. I think having a new eye looking at yourself and your process in your life from a different angle makes you realize a different level of appreciation.
NM: It was quite overwhelming. I didn’t come with any expectations. and to watch you work, It was very interesting to see how you approach it and how you included me in the process too. One day you showed me all your work and I absorbed it. The next day I shared my work. You did the same. On the third day we try to see where we can connect the two worlds in the best possible way and where we can also expand from there. because there’s infinite ideas and possibilities with what you do.
CB: When I was looking at your art, I saw what kind of composition you’re creating with the figures and the forms around them. I really liked this kind of free expression in the forms and how they’re becoming more and more abstracted in a unique way. There is a similarity in terms of patterns and aesthetics, and the color palette that I also use in my work. When you dive into it and pay more attention you realize the details and the figures and how they’re surrounded and how the forms are all interconnected with each other. Adding movement and a light layer on top of that tactile feeling and texture of the canvas, the whole becomes bigger than the sum of its parts.
Importance of Physical Collaboration
NM: Seems like we planted a seed and now we can watch where it wants to grow. I imagine it like large scale installations, and spaces for people to be immersed in the whole experience. I can get lost in my own painting and it becomes a living entity. I had a sensation in my chest just like melting away and my brain wasn’t sure how to process that. So it was kind of just blanked out. It's like when you see something new for the very first time. I feel like what we created needs to be feeled. There’s no other way. It’s an absolutely beautiful experience and relaxation of the whole nervous system.
CB: Having this focused time together in this artist residency concept, we found a potential of how our work can merge. We were both quite satisfied with the result. When that works in that small experimental scale it becomes I think easier to imagine different possibilities and how it can be applied to different spaces.
NM: I paint mostly alone. But there’s also this aspect when you bounce off ideas together in a physical space together. You feel the energy of the other there’s so many things. I learned a lot this week, and not only about art, even about myself, my own behavior and my own thinking. It was a really rich experience.
NM: Seems like we planted a seed and now we can watch where it wants to grow. I imagine it like large scale installations, and spaces for people to be immersed in the whole experience. I can get lost in my own painting and it becomes a living entity. I had a sensation in my chest just like melting away and my brain wasn’t sure how to process that. So it was kind of just blanked out. It's like when you see something new for the very first time. I feel like what we created needs to be feeled. There’s no other way. It’s an absolutely beautiful experience and relaxation of the whole nervous system.
CB: Having this focused time together in this artist residency concept, we found a potential of how our work can merge. We were both quite satisfied with the result. When that works in that small experimental scale it becomes I think easier to imagine different possibilities and how it can be applied to different spaces.
NM: I paint mostly alone. But there’s also this aspect when you bounce off ideas together in a physical space together. You feel the energy of the other there’s so many things. I learned a lot this week, and not only about art, even about myself, my own behavior and my own thinking. It was a really rich experience.
Noëmi Manser, Painter
Can Buyukberber, Visual Artist & Director
instagram.com/cbuyukberber/
Noëmi is a Swiss artist whose work explores the tension between the spiritual and material, blending eroticism and inner conflict. Her art often features fragmented bodies and faces, capturing the interplay between the rational and emotional. In her street art series, "Connecting-Brains, Connecting-Hearts," she uses simultaneous hand-drawing to symbolize inner balance and shared human experiences. Since 2020, Noëmi has focused on oil paintings that reflect her dreams and inner psyche through symbolic and surrealistic imagery.
noemimanser.com
instagram.com/noemimanser
noemimanser.com
instagram.com/noemimanser
Can Buyukberber, Visual Artist & Director
Can Buyukberber is a visual artist and director known for creating immersive audiovisual experiences that merge physical and digital spaces. His work spans various media, including VR/AR, projection mapping, and digital fabrication, exploring human perception and non-linear narratives. With an MFA in Art & Technology from the San Francisco Art Institute, he has been featured globally at venues like ZKM, Ars Electronica, and MUTEK.JP. His interdisciplinary approach to art and technology provides valuable insights into digital narratives and immersive experiences.
canbuyukberber.cominstagram.com/cbuyukberber/
Interdisciplinary Convergence: Can Buyukberber's Visiting Artist Series
Can Buyukberber's Visiting Artist Series is an initiative designed to cultivate interdisciplinary dialogues and creative partnerships within the global art community. Inspired by his residencies at institutions like Adobe and Autodesk Pier 9, Buyukberber draws on his extensive expertise and the advanced capabilities of his digital art studio to establish a residency program that promotes collaborative exploration. By welcoming artists from diverse disciplines into his creative environment, Buyukberber aims to transcend the limitations of traditional art forms, merging them with state-of-the-art digital techniques to produce innovative, immersive experiences.
Can Buyukberber's Visiting Artist Series is an initiative designed to cultivate interdisciplinary dialogues and creative partnerships within the global art community. Inspired by his residencies at institutions like Adobe and Autodesk Pier 9, Buyukberber draws on his extensive expertise and the advanced capabilities of his digital art studio to establish a residency program that promotes collaborative exploration. By welcoming artists from diverse disciplines into his creative environment, Buyukberber aims to transcend the limitations of traditional art forms, merging them with state-of-the-art digital techniques to produce innovative, immersive experiences.
