Istanbul Stumble

Der Spiegel: <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/haartransplantationen-in-der-tuerkei-boomender-medizintourismus-fuer-maennerkoepfe-a-c06e5a54-37a5-4daf-b04c-b91736685e9f" target="_blank">Haartransplantationen in der Türkei
Nowness: Discover the haunting beauty of Istanbul through the eyes of photographer Ci Demi
The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/arts/ancient-rome-bronzes-bubon.html" target="_blank">Who Looted an Ancient Roman Shrine? A Village Finally Tells.

Call me Ci. I was born in Beyoğlu, Istanbul on July 6th, 1986. I studied Italian Language and Literature at Istanbul University. Following that, I worked for advertising agencies as a copywriter and creative director for many years. I was 28 when I discovered visual storytelling. I did music photography and photojournalism for a while, then I decided to devote my time solely to my own stories.

My work is focused on Istanbul and its personal psychogeography. Adopting documentary as a secondary function, I tell stories using the scenes of my city. My distinct colour palette is a derivation of the look of Italian giallos from the ‘70s, and I take cues from the cinematography of classic horror films in my visual language. Almost all of my photographs take place in the daytime.

More about my work

Favourites

Current camera
Suspiria (1977)
Cat’s Cradle (1963)
The Smiths (1984)

Timeline of the far future

Istanbul Stumble

Istanbul Stumble (2023 - 2024) is a photo-story where the author imagines it’s his first time visiting the city, focusing on stumbling upon the essence of it through a curious gaze.

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