THE LYCEUM

Deniz Eroglu

Deniz Eroglu is a Danish-Turkish filmmaker, installation artist, and writer.

Eroglu uses film to reveal the importance of “noticing” the world around us.

You are always noticing things, no matter who you are, what you are thinking, or even what’s around you at that the time. You might notice the big picture or the smallest of details; you might be drawn to public and busy settings or private and intimate rooms, with few people.

However, to Eroglu, the most interesting of noticers are those in everyday, mundane scenarios. As a result, he tends to portray the subtle intricacies of people’s day-to-day lives, from dinners with the family to dealings with the national bank of Denmark, his home country.

An anonymous student states: “As the son of a Turkish immigrant father and Danish mother, Eroglu is informed by his hybrid cultural identity. Incorporating this identity into his work, he breaks through traditional structures of power and storytelling in a pattern that, against traditional xenophobia, is more necessary than ever.”

Deniz Eroglu’s variety of mediums also translates into creativity. Aside from documentary film, video art, sculptural installation, and even memoir writing, he has experimented with video games and the culinary arts! Regardless of his medium, however, Eroglu’s taste for artistry and complexity shines through his carefully-crafted characters and scenes.

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Selected Works
  • Baba World (2016): In this retro-style computer game, the heroic immigrant “Baba” collects wealth from the Danish State Treasury. However, just one misstep will end the journey abruptly – an experience that mirrors the real world-journey of an immigrant.
  • The Shipwrecked Triptych (2025): Cast from humanity yet tethered to it – to be shipwrecked is to exist in this ambivalent space. Deniz Eroglu uses three independent episodes to probe this concept; a nursing home on New Year’s Eve, a sun-drenched Congolese family home and the medieval German countryside.
  • Glow-in-the-Dark-Rousseau (2017): A small statue of philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau made from polyurethane & glow-in-the-dark-pigment sits next to a passage from Reveries of a Solitary Walker.
Trailer for The Shipwrecked Triptych (2025), a documentary film by Deniz Eroglu.

Discussion Questions

  1. Watch the trailer for The Shipwrecked Triptych, one of Eroglu’s films.
    • What do you make of Eroglu’s decision to feature multiple characters across narratives?
    • Create your own narrative for The Shipwrecked Triptych based on what you have seen (if your class is large, divide them into segments to cover each of the different characters). Although you haven’t watched the film, what do you think it might be about?
  2. Look through Eroglu’s works on his website or refer to the selected works list. Pick one work where the medium stands out to you as “creative”. Why do you think it is unique? What does it say about the work?
  3. Do you think there is something interesting to discover in our everyday life – the settings we pass by, the people we encounter? How might Eroglu or any other artist channel this vibrancy through artwork?
This artist was chosen by an anonymous student at the University of Georgia.

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