(Photo: Fatima Shbair)
One of the most effective ways to highlight a disparity is through juxtaposition.
Istanbul-based artistUgur Gallenkushas proven himself a master of this technique.
One suchcompositionsuperimposes Grant WoodsAmerican Gothicon a Californian home engulfed in flames from the Eaton fire.
A Palestinian girl stands amid the rubble of her destroyed home on May 24, 2021, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. (Photo: Fatima Shbair)
Other images, however, direct more attention on human subjects.
Inone, a woman clutches a little girl in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.
These collages are exercises in empathy as much as they are in prompting action.
A woman holding a little girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit the Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza, October 23, 2023. (Photo: Ali Jadallah)
Gallenkus considers his art a humanitarian endeavor as well as an aesthetic one, the artists biographyreads.
His creations compel us to reflect on the consequences of our actions and inspire a collective call for peace.
Now, more than ever, we need art that transcends borders, fostering understanding and unity.
A Ukrainian soldier is treated for leg injuries caused by shelling at his frontline post, July 2023. (Photo: Diego Herrera)
To discover more of his heartwrenching digital collages, visitUgur Gallenkuss websiteand follow him onInstagram.
Turkish artistUgur Gallenkuscreates devastating digital collages that juxtapose photojournalistic imagery with scenes of idyllic lives.
Injured children at Al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, October 12, 2023.
A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, January 8, 2025. (Photo: Josh Edelson)
(Photo: Necati Savas)
Woman during the aftermath of the 2023 Turkish earthquakes.
Ugur Gallenkus:Website|Instagram
My Modern Met received permission to feature images by Ugur Gallenkus.
Injured children at Al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, October 12, 2023. (Photo: Samar Abu Elouf)
Haitian immigrants cross the Rio Grande back into Mexico from Del Rio, Texas on September 20, 2021, to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. (Photo: John Moore)
Followed by their mother Natasha, Yarik Stepanenko, 11, pushes his twin sister Yana’s wheelchair along a corridor of a public hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, May 12, 2022. (Photo: Emilio Morenatti)
A Palestinian man carries a little girl after pulling her from under the rubble of hers house destroyed by the Israeli airstrike, Dec. 2023. (Photo: Motaz Azaiza)
A man holds the body of his daughter who died in the earthquake, after her body was retrieved from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 7, 2023. (Photo: Necati Savaş)
Woman during the aftermath of the 2023 Turkish earthquakes.
