“The Photographer’s Testimony” presents a wide selection of works by Ozan Sağdıç (b. 1934), one of the most prominent names in the history of photography in Türkiye. The exhibition focuses on documentary photography, a widespread genre of photography in the world, while also shedding light on the country’s social, political, economic, cultural, and visual history from the 1950s to the present day.
By documenting Türkiye’s transformation from multiple perspectives during the course of his 70-year career, Ozan Sağdıç plays an essential role in the formation of the country’s visual memory, particularly at a time when photography was less commonly practiced.
The exhibition features 127 black and white and color photographs, including portraits of politicians who shaped the country, influential figures in art and literature, as well as works depicting street life with ordinary people working or having fun, in short, capturing these transformative years from a humanistic point of view. While offering the audience a visual panorama of the country from the 1950s onwards, the exhibition also presents the techniques and contexts in which these photographs were produced through vintage prints and examples from Hayat magazine.
Curators: Merih Akoğul, Demet Yıldız Dinçer
Consultant: Dr. Ruhi Oğuz Sağdıç
About the artist:
Ozan Sağdıç was born on December 30, 1934, in Pelitköy, Burhaniye. He attended Buca Middle School in Izmir as a boarding student, where his art teacher was the esteemed painter Âbidin Elderoğlu. Sağdıç acquired theoretical and practical knowledge in art techniques and aesthetics from him. With a borrowed Rolleiflex camera, he photographed the beautiful corners of Istanbul. With these 40 Istanbul vistas in hand, he caught the attention of the team producing the weekly magazine Hayat in 1956. As soon as the magazine started to be published, he worked as one of its first two photojournalists alongside Ara Güler with Hayat’s Istanbul team. During this time, he gained experience in layout and graphics in the magazine’s printing preparation workshop. He was appointed to the Ankara office opened by Hayat in 1960 at his own request, where he continued his journalistic and photographic career. In Ankara, alongside his main duties, he began taking stage photographs for the State Theatres. He also contributed to the printed publications of this institution and designed the first theater posters. Meanwhile, he provided examples of book and publication covers in accordance with contemporary graphic understanding He made significant contributions to the archives and promotional publications of the Ministries of Tourism and Culture. A photograph he sent to The British Journal of Photography was published as “Photograph of the Year” in 1968. To date, Sağdıç has held approximately 50 solo exhibitions both in Türkiye and internationally, and his music-synchronized slide shows have received special attention. At various times, Sağdıç served as a member of the Turkish National Commission Culture Committee for UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture Art Advisory Board, as well as the art consultant for many organizations including TSE (Turkish Standards Institution), the Turkish Culture Foundation, and TKV (Türkiye Development Foundation). In addition to receiving the title of State Artist in 1998, he has been awarded numerous honors, such as the 1985 Art Institution Award, the 2014 Aydın Doğan Award, the 2020-2021 TFSF (Turkish Foundation of Photography Arts) Artist of the Year, and the 2023 ÇAĞSAV (Contemporary Arts Foundation) Art Award.
Click here for the virtual tour of “Ozan Sağdıç: The Photographer's Testimony”.
Moda Cape, Istanbul, 1956 (detail)