Focus: Turkey

Istanbul Modern presented a selection from its photography collection in the exhibition “Focus: Turkey”, showcasing a selection of photography from Turkey as part of the Landskrona Photography Festival taking place in Sweden. Comprising of works by artists presenting various technical and representative forms of photography, the exhibition was open to public between June 26 - August 26, 2014.

Istanbul Modern - the only museum in Turkey with a separate gallery for photography - founded the largest institutional photography collection in Turkey. With works ranging from the Ottoman era and the beginning of the Republic in the 1920s to the present, Istanbul Modern’s photography collection is recognized as one of the most important archives in Turkey. Presenting a contemporary selection from this archive, “Istanbul Modern Photography Collection – Landskrona” was the latest in a series of shows that Istanbul Modern has held in major cities of Europe and Middle East.

Featuring major examples of contemporary photography of the collection, this exhibition focused on the idea of personal narrative, perception of the city and the play between reality and fiction. The artists employ photography not only as an act of simple surveillance, but also as a tool of interpreting daily life with sociopolitical and aesthetic references. By opening doors to different interpretations, their images use the power of ambiguity rather than submitting to a voice that dictates meaning.

The subjective approach of the artists in exhibition often creates a personal narrative that combines reality and fiction. Everyday life, memory, and the personal archives of artists are the subjects of experimental conceptual photographs that reflect each photographer’s subjective perception of space. Some achieve a conceptual force in their photographs without any intervention, while others employ various methods of manipulating a photograph. In the exhibition, by including computer generated images, books, photography-based videos and installations alongside analog photographs, photography becomes a mediated means of communication.

Artists: Ali Alışır, Kerem Ozan Bayraktar, Fatma Belkıs, Dilan Bozyel, Yusuf Darıyerli, Murat Germen, Ege Kanar, Sevim Sancaktar, Sinan Tuncay, Gözde Türkkan, Sencer Vardarman, Devin Yalkın, Begüm Yamanlar, Sarp Kerem Yavuz, Cemre Yeşil

Kerem Ozan Bayraktar

Painter with 7 Horses, 2013