Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery is hosting its inaugural exhibition in the new building with photographs by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, one of the most distinctive directors of contemporary cinema. Ceylan’s works showcase strong cinematic language from his films and inspire the audience’s imagination. “In Another Place” also alludes to the recurring theme in the director’s films where characters yearn to be “in another place.”
The photographs included in the exhibition are notable for their distinctive features, such as the characters’ relationships with nature and the built environment, the carefully constructed photographic atmosphere, the dramatic use of lighting, a dialogue between colours, understated emotions, and calm facial expressions.
Ceylan’s works remind us that our lives are inseparable from the geography we inhabit and highlight the profound human experiences that bind us together.
Making visible the struggles of people, their loneliness, their boredom and melancholy from time to time, Ceylan focuses on common feelings rather than differences between geographies. The unique formal language we see in Ceylan’s photographs activates our imaginations, enabling us to feel close to geographies and people we have not visited and experienced.
Demet Yıldız Dinçer is the curator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s exhibition at Istanbul Modern Photography Collection, which includes significant works such as “Trams in Beyoğlu” and “Winter Evening in Istanbul” from 2004.