Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery presents the exhibition titled “Two
Archives, One Selection: Tracing Ara Güler’s Footsteps in Istanbul”. A
collaboration between Istanbul Modern and the Ara Güler Museum, the
exhibition draws on the collections and archives of both institutions to show
the role of Ara Güler’s (1928-2018) photographs in shaping the public’s
collective memory of Istanbul and the changes that have taken place in the
city from the mid-20th century to the present.
Cities are spaces where collective memory is shaped and continuously
updated. Photographic records play an important role in this continuous
update which takes place with every generation. As such, photographs impact
and shape the collective memory that forms the city’s identity. When it comes
to Istanbul, Ara Güler’s photographs have made a very significant contribution
to the construction of the public’s collective imagination and memories of the
city. “Two Archives, One Selection: Tracing Ara Güler’s Footsteps in Istanbul”
combines Ara Güler’s photographs, which invite viewers to look at them again
and again, with archival materials in order to highlight Güler’s practice as well
as his role in the creation of our perception of Istanbul.
The works comprise photographs from different periods, all signed by Ara
Güler, as well as various dark room prints, objects and ephemera from
the archives of the Istanbul Modern Photography Collection and the Ara
Güler Museum. As a whole, the exhibition aims to address the relationship
between photography and photographer’s subjectivity through the works
of Güler, who defines himself as a photojournalist and photojournalists as
“people who write history with their cameras.”
The exhibition can be seen until November, 17th.
Curator: Demet Yıldız
Advisor: Umut Sülün
