Istanbul-based Ali Gulec is a graphic artist with a difference. His surreal illustrations are like identikit drawings aiming to prosecute the material arts. Working on the margins of what is possible with his medium, Gulec's forms, figures, and situations are remarkable for their clarity and strength of purpose, and maintain an iconographic intensity that would make any rock band bereft of an album cover salivate with admiration.

A tribesman loyal to the Houthi movement carries his rifle as he leaves a gathering held to show support for the group, in Yemen's capital Sanaa December 15, 2015. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Andrej Ciesielski dangels his legs off the side of a building overlooking Times Square, New York City. (Photo by Andrej Ciesielski/Caters News Agency)

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) fires his rifle at Islamic State militants as he runs across a street in Raqqa, Syria, July 2017. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A Maori warrior prepares to challenge Prince Charles during his welcome to Takanhanga Marae in Kaikoura, New Zealand November 23, 2019. (Photo by Tracey Nearmy/Reuters)

A man sits waiting for a train on the London Underground in 1890, when the platform floors were still made from wooden floorboards. (Photo by Hi-Story/Alamy Stock Photo)

A model wears a face mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, designed by Iraqi designer Ziad Tariq at his workshop in Basra, Iraq, Monday, July 20, 2020. (Photo by Nabil al-Jurani/AP Photo)

A Naga Sadhu or Hindu holy man adjusts the beads around his neck ahead of the first Shahi Snan at “Kumbh Mela” or the Pitcher Festival, in Haridwar, India, March 10, 2021. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)