Home - Yilmaz Vurucu

Welcome

I'm a researcher, artist, filmmaker with a particular focus on cultural hegemony, ideological reproduction and resistance through community.

My research...

My research focuses on how the material world (encompassing resources, technology, the means of production, and social relations) shapes knowledge, identity, hierarchy, and the dynamics of power. Grounded in personal reflection and framed by a history of nepantla, or in-betweenness, it interrogates the intersections of class, production, and the superstructure of modernity. The results of my research are diverse: papers, video essays, documentaries, publications…

At its core, I question why specific structures persist, who they serve, how they maintain themselves and for whom or to what purpose; with a particular emphasis on the mechanisms of power that underpin ideological reproduction and resistance.

I examine the processes subjectively (objectivity is overrated), looking into how hegemonic systems manufacture ideology and coercion, and what the impact of their endless desire for growth, extraction and exploitation is.

It all sounds predestined (or preordained), I know. Which is why I also support and research collective forms of existence. I label alternative communal structures as a form of resistance, given their ability to persist and remain functional is a form of resistance.

These days, my focus is on two main subjects. The first is how the mechanisms of techno-capitalism commodify and influence our behavior. This includes an investigation of how surveillance capitalism transforms human experience into extractable data, mirroring cult-like systems of control that manufacture allegiance through precarity and behavioral manipulation. I am currently working on my PhD thesis, which is on this topic and follows up on my Masters thesis.

Second, I am busy researching the erosion and resilience of nomadic traditions, such as those of the Yörük communities, as they navigate the homogenizing pressures of the Capitalocene, where privatization, ecological degradation, and forced sedentarization disrupt metabolic relationships with land and communal knowledge systems. To this effect, I have begun artistic based research with the Yörük in Türkiye.

You can obtain more info on my research work here or check out my ORCID account for my publications, papers and books.

My work...

I feel lucky to have found meaning through my work. Through some stroke of luck, and lots of persistence, I can say I’ve been blessed enough to be able to connect my experience, knowledge and life trajectory with meaningful implementation.

I work with Wonderland within the context of European projects, where we research, promote participation and involvement, and engage in advocacy and policy recommendation in the fields of utilize sustainable energy, energy communities and positive energy districts, as well as gender sensitive mobility and public space planning, among others.

…and although my background has cultivated a critical awareness of the dynamics at play within close-knit communities (and their inherent power structures), my practice is rooted in active engagement as a form of resistance and alternative.

As such, in my role with Wonderland, I connect research with application. I utilize methods rooted in arts-based research to co-create films, document best case practices, facilitate workshops, program Urban Living Labs, and exhibitions. I use the materials created to improve community knowledge, experiment with alternative models, and translate collective needs into actionable strategies.

The process emphasizes how creative collaboration can redefine relationships with resources, and how society and community needs to be the cornerstone of sustainable change.

Through filmmaking, co-created installations, and public interventions, I focus on the “how” of engagement: how platforms are structured to amplify voices, how knowledge is shared across contexts, and how communities can assert agency within systems that can marginalize them or turn a blind eye to their needs.

You can have a look at my work here, or check out my ORCID account for publications, papers and books created via wonderland.

My world

My journey has been one of navigating the fringes and existing in the in-betweens: between cultures, systems, and beliefs. I once thought I was alone and my experiences were uncommon. Little did I know that I was living in a state of nepantla, or in-between-ness. I would later learn that Gloria Anzaldua developed a whole writing technique as someone who had also experienced this reality, and would adapt the reflective, liminal technique as a political tool of resistance in my work.

My career began in television, inspired by the rebellious visual language of the French New Wave and MTV, I moved through exploitative industries and disrupted education before rekindling my passion for filmmaking with my short film projects.

Through x-arts and Wonderland, I’ve been exploring themes such as energy communities, community-driven initiatives, sustainability, artistic research methodology and co-creation.

My master’s research on ideology in cults and capitalism deepened my focus on coercion and resistance, leading me to my current PhD on techno-capitalism and how surveillance tech, together with Ideological State Apparatuses, commodify human behavior, and use extracted data as a coercive tool.

Alternatively, a search for roots and resisting modes of existence led me to the Yörük nomads of Türkiye. Their endangered way of life, marked by seasonal migrations and communal resilience, became a personal and professional calling. Today, I document their struggles and alternatives to the Capitalocene, blending filmmaking, research, and activism to challenge homogenizing systems and amplify marginalized voices.

On a personal note: I enjoy working out, eating right, engaging with theory and critical thought, following current events, listening to music, viewing films, spending time with my family and kids, and have recently picked up drumming as a hobby.

That’s the gist, you can read more in detail in my bio.

Some news

Opinions, articles, thoughts, happenings...

An exploration on the reproduction of ideology in cults and capitalism

First of all, let me say I am quite aware that the premise of Reproducing Coercion, an exploration on...

Reproducing coercion

Reproducing coercion is the title of my master’s thesis, submitted for consideration at the Academy...

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