Hello! I’m Ci, an Istanbul-based photographer exploring the city’s psychogeography through personal work. I also contribute to publications such as Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, and others.
BIOGRAPHY Ci Demi (he/him — b. 1986, Istanbul, Türkiye) is a photographer based in Istanbul. He studied Italian Language and Literature at Istanbul University. At 28, he discovered photography.
His photographs have been featured in prominent publications like Foam Magazine and the British Journal of Photography. Demi's work has been showcased at renowned festivals and venues, including Les Rencontres d'Arles and Istanbul's Pera Museum.
In 2022, his series "Unutursan Darılmam" (No Offence If You Forget, 2018 - 2024) was selected as the winner of Discovery Awards at Encontros da Imagem photography festival. Onagöre published Demi's debut photobook, "Şehir Fikri" (Notion of a City, December 2022), an eerie portrayal of Istanbul marked by the absence of people, animals, and language. Inspired by Georges Perec's oulipo novel "La Disparition" (A Void, 1969), the book focuses on the city's haunting essence.
His personal work explores the psychogeography of Istanbul, intricately weaving together intimate narratives of the city's landscape with his own lived experiences. While he adopts a documentarian approach to his images (ensuring they are always unaltered and unstaged), his use of colour to convey a “quiet tension” is prominent in his work.
2025 Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget, FiLBooks, To be published) 2022 Şehir Fikri (Notion of a City, Onagöre)
Awards
2025 Winner, Fondazione Capri: Festival of Photography in Capri (17th Edition) 2025 Winner, Les Rencontres de la Photographie Marrakech (5th Edition) 2025 Finalist, Verzasca Foto Festival Awards 2022 Winner, Discovery Awards, Encontros da Imagem
Nominations
2024 Prix Pictet 2025 2024 C/O Berlin Talent Award 2025 2024 Joop Swart Masterclass 2022 Leica Oskar Barnack Award
Shortlists
2025 Images Vevey Book Award 2025/2026 2024 Dear Dave, Fellowship 2023 Foam Talent Call 2024-25 2023 Belfast Photo Festival 2021 212 Photography Istanbul
Grants
2018 SAHA, Travel grant for Les Rencontres d’Arles
Geo (Licensing) Harvard Business Manager (Licensing) Zeit Online (Editorial) Aposto (Editorial) Harper’s Bazaar Italia (Licensing) 11Freunde (Editorial) Der Spiegel (Editorial) Society (Editorial) Financial Times (Editorial) The New York Times (Editorial) Zeit Magazin (Editorial) Die Zeit (Editorial) Kaos GL (Licensing) Altyazı (Editorial) Frankie Magazine (Editorial)
What Makes a Home (2024)
Ideal Glass Studios, New York City, USA
Her Şeyin Kötü Gittiğine Dair Emareler (Signs That Everything Is Going Wrong, 2016 - 2022) Zamane İstanbulları (Istanbuls Today, 2022 - 2023) Pera Museum (Pera Müzesi), Istanbul, Turkey
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget, 2018 - 2024) Encontros da Imagem (2022) Largo do Paço, Braga, Portugal
Selected shows
2025
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget) / Festival of Photography in Capri (17th Edition), La storia siamo noi / Capri, Italy / Group, Festival
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget) / Festival OFF Arles 2025, The Language of Pictures / Arles, France / Group, Festival
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget) / Verzasca Foto Festival, Notte della Fotografia / Ticino, Switzerland / Group, Festival
2024
What Makes a Home / Ideal Glass Studios / New York City, USA / In collaboration with Better Shelter / Group
Italo Calvino 100+1 Yaşında! (Italo Calvino Is 100+1 Years Old!) / Kıraathane / Istanbul, Turkey / Curated by Bilge Bal & Sevil Enginsoy Ekinci / Group
2023
Love, Peace, and Harmony / ArtIstanbul Feshane / Istanbul, Turkey / Curated by Bengü Gün / Group
Manzaradan Öte (Beyond the Landscape) / Mixer / Istanbul, Turkey / Duo
2022
2022 - 2023 Zamane İstanbulları (Istanbuls Today) / Pera Museum (catalogue) / Istanbul, Turkey / Curated by Refik Akyüz & Serdar Darendeliler / Group
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget) / Mamut Art Project / Istanbul, Turkey / Fair
Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget) / Encontros da Imagem / Braga, Portugal / Solo, Festival
2018
A Pillar of Smoke / Jimei x Arles International Photography Festival / Xiamen, China / Group, Festival
A Pillar of Smoke / Galerie Paris-B / Paris, France / Group
A Pillar of Smoke / Les Rencontres d’Arles / Arles, France / Curated by Ilgın Deniz Akseloğlu & Yann Perreau / Group, Festival
2017
Postcards from Tarlabaşı / Pasaj / Istanbul, Turkey / Curated by Giorgio Caione & Christian Oxenius / Group