Gül Ilgaz has been exploring themes like identity, hybrid cultures, social roles, emotional states, memory, and urban issues through her work in photography, videos, and installations since the 1990s. Rather than merely capturing the world around her, Ilgaz uses photography as a tool to transform the world of images into artistic expressions. Her recent works have been showcased in prominent venues such as the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, Akademie der Künste in Berlin, Triennale Milano, and Galeri Spass in New York.

This exhibition, hosted on Moda Pier, one of the festival venues on the Asian side of Istanbul, will showcase a selection of Gül Ilgaz’s photographs, including Ayrılık (Parting) and Taş ve Ten (Stone and Skin). Her narrative, centred on the relationship between humans and the sea, is conveyed through the horizon, the scent of sea air, and sun-washed stones. Ilgaz’s focus on nudity underscores the innate human connection to water. In her images, the body emerges as a connection between the sky and the sea, capturing the essence of balance and stillness, movement and flight. Constructed on contrasts, these images symbolise life in all its beauty and burden.

Gül Ilgaz

28 September – 13 October 2024

Moda Pier