Unutursan Darilmam

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

Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget)

Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget, 2018 - 2023) is a photobook project about clinging to Istanbul and rediscovering life during a three-year-long depression.

Status

July 2023: I completed the shooting phase of the story.
July 2024: We started working on the sequence.

Award

Encontros da Imagem: Discovery Awards 2022, Winner

Exhibitions

Italo Calvino Is 100+1 Years Old! (2024)
Mamut Art Project (2022)
Encontros da Imagem (2022)

As seen on