Smoke Break

This work examines how a single human gesture can momentarily transform an urban environment. In the alcoves of a concrete building—air cool, surfaces raw, the city’s noise reduced to a distant hum—Istanbul’s hurried chatter remains in the background as someone steps aside and lights a cigarette. Tobacco absolute, hay, vanilla, and benzoin rise like a warm exhale shaped by sun dried Turkish tobacco, echoing the soft, honeyed warmth of cigarettes smoked on balconies, ferry decks, and narrow side streets. The aroma clings to the mineral breath of concrete, creating a fleeting exchange between humanity and architecture. Frankincense, labdanum, and Tolu balsam deepen the shadow with a resinous depth that recalls bazaars where smoke, spice, and incense have mingled for centuries. Iso E Super, Ambroxan, musks, cedar, guaiacwood, and pepper diffuse and trace the building’s storied geometry, until what remains is a warmth suspended in a city iconic, nostalgic & unapologetically, brutal

Philosophical Anchor

“Even in a city of stone, the breath of one person carries its own hüzün.”