Emre is a PhD researcher and visual artist whose work investigates silence, visual storytelling and ethical attention at the intersection of visual culture and AI. Through visual art and practice-based research, he explores how wordless images can create slower, more collective ways of seeing in relation to care, climate justice and digital culture.

His PhD research in Humanities and Communication at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona explores silent graphic narratives, non-verbal storytelling and AI's implications for contemporary visual culture. He holds an MA in Art Education and a BFA in Painting from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.

In 2026, the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO selected him as Türkiye's artist-researcher nominee for the UNESCO/Japan Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowship. His debut wordless graphic novel, Fishes May Come Back, was published in the UK, and his illustrations have appeared in international publications including The Guardian.

Selected Talks & Conferences

Between Silence and Automation: Ethics and Aesthetics in Contemporary Graphic Narratives
Comics Forum Industry 2025, Leeds Central Library, UK · 2025

Visualizing Otherwise: A Wordless Inquiry into Homelessness
(Don't) Believe the Hype: Resisting Technology Hype through Critical and Creative Practice, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona · 2025

Artists Roundtable
Comics and Global South Conference, University of Cambridge, UK · 2022

Visuality of Silence: Understanding Wordless Graphic Novels through Cognitive Learning
ECR Conference, The British Psychological Society, UK · 2021

The Place Where the Unending Time Is: Discovering the History of Silent Graphic Novels through Timeless Communication
Domus Centre and History of Education Society, University of Birmingham, UK · 2021

Silent Literacy and the Construction of Identity
Yidan Prize Doctoral Conference, Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK · 2021

Selected Publications & Commissions

When a Comic Refuses to Explain Itself: Slow Reading, Silence, and the Non-Industrial Comic
Essay published by SOLRAD (US) · 2026

The Guardian
Commissioned illustrator for I Am Here, I Am Free, edited by Jessica Reed and Rita Liu · 2023

The Cost of Being Homeless in the Age of Smart Cities
Research-based visual publication developed with the Edgelands Institute, exploring surveillance, digital infrastructure, homelessness and urban inequality · 2023

All Is Not Well: Caregiving in Sequential Art
Collaborative visual storytelling project with Dr. Ryan Prout and Jonathan Clode, supported by Cardiff University and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) · 2022

Fishes May Come Back
Debut wordless graphic novel, published by Good Comics, UK · 2021

Orchards in Blossom: Silent Language to Form an Identity in Terms of Progressive Ways of Education
Published in the proceedings of the Yidan Prize Doctoral Conference, Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK · 2021

Youth: Overview Context
In Maria Brauzzi (Ed.), Education and Childhood Studies. Bloomsbury · 2021

Paul Klee and B.R. Eyüboğlu: A Comparison of Ideas on Creativity and Art Education
Journal of Art and Design · 2021

Obelisk
Commissioned wordless graphic novel produced through a funded Kickstarter campaign and awarded a Kickstarter "Project We Love" badge · 2021

Research, Fellowships & Awards

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Accelerator Lab
Design Consultant · Jordan · 2024
Developed visual and narrative materials for a sustainability initiative in Wadi Rum supporting native species restoration, Bedouin cultural practices and ecological stewardship.

Edgelands Institute – Artist Fellow
Geneva, Switzerland · 2022–2023
Developed research-led visual work examining urban life, surveillance, digital infrastructure, homelessness and social inequality.

Against Digital Fatalism Award – Shortlisted Artist
Resisting Technology Hype through Hopeful Artful Interventions with Immersive Futures, University of Bristol, UK · 2023

The Bottom Drawer Prize – Shortlisted
Orchards in Blossom, a nonfiction project exploring silent language and wordless graphic narratives · UK · 2022

SASME+ / Civil Media in Service of Social Campaigns Promoting Activation of Seniors
Research Assistant · European Union-funded research project · 2020–2022

Big Data-Based, Evidence-Based School Assessment and Education Excellence
Research Assistant · Research project funded by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education · 2020–2022

Selected Exhibitions

The Expectants
Selected artwork, Comics and Global South Conference Exhibition, University of Cambridge, UK · 2022

Nuri İyem Painting Award – Selected Work
Evin Art Gallery, Istanbul · 2017

Kuşluktan İçeri
Solo Exhibition, The Art Studio, Kadıköy, Istanbul · 2016

Istanbul International Art Fair
Group Exhibition, Istanbul · 2014

İpek-Ahmet Merey Painting Award – Selected Work
Osman Hamdi Bey Hall, Istanbul · 2014

Affiliations

Not Inevitable, We and AI (London, UK)
Key Partners and Editorial/Visual Contributor

Researching and developing strategic partnerships, particularly across the Global South, while contributing editorial and visual direction to the Not Inevitable platform.

Edgelands Institute (Geneva, Switzerland)
Advisory Board Member; Co-Leader, Art Department & Asian Perspectives

Contributes to interdisciplinary artistic research addressing urban life, digital culture, environmental justice and social inequality. Supports research development and collaborations between artists, researchers and policymakers.

Light and Memory: Art, Design, Education & Research Lab | Journal of Storytelling Scholarship
Co-Founder

Co-founded an international platform for artistic research and visual storytelling, bringing together artists and scholars through publications, conversations and collaborative projects exploring narrative ethics, non-verbal communication, memory and socially engaged art.

Selected Press & Features

Broken Frontier · UK · 2020
WIP Comics · Podcast · UK · 2020
SOLRAD · US · 2020
A Place to Hang Your Cape · UK · 2021
Pipedream · UK · 2021