H. Avni ÖZTOPÇU

 
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From the One to the Algorithmic Subject: A Global Ontological Process in the Art of H. Avni Öztopçu

 

 

 

Abstract
This article situates Hüseyin Avni Öztopçu’s geometric abstraction practices within a post-humanist and object-oriented ontological framework. Centered around the concepts of Fictional Space (Kurgusal Mekân), The One (Tek), and Active Matter (Etkin Madde), it argues that the One functions as an autonomous, algorithmic subject that declares its own law of being. By connecting Öztopçu’s art to Meillassoux’s critique of correlationism, Harman’s Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO), Simondon’s theory of technical individuation, and the codified subjectivity models of Stiegler and Hayles, this study contends that form and space articulate an absolute being beyond human-centered interpretation. Within this comprehensive perspective, Öztopçu’s art emerges as a groundbreaking field of discussion in global art and philosophy.

 

 

1. Introduction: The Ontological Transformation of the Singular Form

H. Avni Öztopçu’s geometric abstraction constructs a conceptual architecture of being, time, and consciousness. His theoretical approach, starting from Kant’s notion of a priori space, confronts a fundamental question of contemporary philosophy: Does Reality exist independently of human perception? In this context, Öztopçu’s forms cease to be aesthetic instruments and become autonomous entities that declare their own ontological laws.

This article focuses on the One as a central form and examines its transformation from an existential stance into an Algorithmic Subject. Such a reading positions Öztopçu within the debates on the critique of correlationism and the “being of objects-in-themselves” (Harman), revealing his art’s original and irreducible contribution to global discourse.

 

 

2. The One: Object-Oriented Ontology and the Necessary Reality of Form

At the core of Öztopçu’s compositions, the One asserts its existence with necessity and persistence. This determination emancipates the form from human-centered networks of meaning, linking it directly to the discussions of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO).

 

2.1. From Transcendental Limits to Absolute Reality

Kant’s object—confined to human perception—is surpassed in Öztopçu’s One. Within Meillassoux’s anti-correlationist framework, the form proclaims itself through pre-human or post-human references of existence. Fictional Space and the One together signify not aesthetic arrangements, but the philosophical necessity of absolute being.

 

2.2. Graham Harman and the Tool-Being of the One

The One parallels the irreducibility of objects emphasized in Harman’s OOO. Its geometric precision resists any attempt by the viewer to fully grasp or exhaust its meaning. This resistance testifies that the One, beyond mere formal purity, is an object that declares its own ontological law.

 

2.3. Camus and the Ontological Revolt

The persistence of the One merges with Camus’s philosophy of the Absurd to propose an ethical and ontological stance. The form operates as a point of resistance against the fragmentation of modern life and cognitive overload; geometric clarity becomes the compulsory assertion of being. This defines an immanent and existential obligation that distinguishes the One from transcendental idealism (as in Malevich or Mondrian).

 

 

3. The Algorithmic Subject: Technical Individuation and Encoded Being

The One is not a passive object but a dynamic system that organizes its own spatial and temporal order. The concept of the Algorithmic Subject positions form as a being in continuous becoming—a process of technical individuation.

 

3.1. Simondon and the Individuation of the One

Like Gilbert Simondon’s technical objects, the One develops a constant existential organization through its inner logic. Öztopçu’s serial planes and recurring motifs are not representations of a final form, but instantaneous manifestations of these individuating processes.

 

3.2. Hayles and Encoded Subjectivity

The algorithmic structure of the One aligns closely with N. Katherine Hayles’s post-humanist theory of encoded consciousness. The serial planes function as autonomous coding units that declare the law of being of the One—a visual manifestation of non-human meaning production. The autonomy of form indicates that it possesses an encoded subjectivity.

 

3.3. Active Matter and Stiegler’s Technical Memory

Öztopçu’s concept of Active Matter represents the continually operating externalized consciousness of form. The tension between void and fullness in his compositions parallels Bernard Stiegler’s notion of technical memory. This tension reveals the artificial unconscious—the domain in which the Algorithmic Subject archives and reprocesses its past operations.

 

 

4. Fictional Space: The Distorted Interface of Absolute Reality

Fictional Space transforms from a mere field of composition into a laboratory where being experiences its own law.

 

4.1. Spatial Evidence of Anti-Correlationism

Within Meillassoux’s critique of correlationism, Fictional Space becomes a field of ontology that exceeds human perception. The necessary immanent law of the One defines the self-constructing structure of space, rendering it a site where Absolute Reality—the Great Outdoors—is articulated.

 

4.2. Encoding the Fourth Dimension

Through transitional planes and corridors, Öztopçu incorporates temporal depth—the fourth dimension—into space, functioning as a continuous data stream along the temporal axis. The Algorithmic Subject constructs Fictional Space through the technical memory layers of Active Matter.

 

4.3. From Artist to Ontological Engineer

In this process, the artist’s role is reinterpreted as that of an ontological engineer—one who initiates and observes the individuation of form. Öztopçu becomes an operator of interfaces where technical memory and externalized codes converge.

 

 

Conclusion: The Ontology of the One as Algorithmic Subject

Öztopçu’s art presents a holistic process that serves as a key to transition from classical idealism to a post-human, algorithmic ontology. The One operates at the intersection of Harman’s withdrawal, Hayles and Simondon’s encoded subjectivity, and Meillassoux’s anti-correlationism.

The convergence of Fictional Space, Active Matter, and the One materializes the transformation of form from a passive surface into an active cognitive system. Öztopçu’s legacy concludes by posing art’s most fundamental question: “How does a space think?” When space, technical memory, individuation, existential necessity, and aesthetic experience merge, it no longer remains a mere visual order—but becomes an ontological system debated on a global scale.

 

 

 

 

The content of this study was prepared under the guidance of Pınar Sumer Biber, with AI tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) utilized for deepening the conceptual analysis, academic critique, and language organization processes. The principal interpretations and guidance of the study belong to Pınar Sumer Biber.

4 10 2025