Coup d'état in colors

Istanbul, Summer 2016

Istanbul has been the scene of countless clashes over the centuries. Owing to its strategic position between Europe and Asia, the city has repeatedly found itself at the center of historic conflicts. One of the most recent chapters in this long history unfolded on 15 July 2016, when a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to seize control of key sites in Ankara and Istanbul. By the following day, the coup attempt had been suppressed.

I arrived in Istanbul eight days after these events. I was immediately overwhelmed by the city's colors—red, yellow, and green—made all the more striking by what was happening around me. Two weeks later, I returned and continued photographing, this time deliberately searching for the color combinations I wanted. This is how the series came together, touching only partly on the political events themselves and refracting them through vivid, multicolored images of everyday life.

This is not conventional coverage of political protest. We are accustomed to chaotic photographs of marching crowds and street unrest; I was drawn instead to fleeting moments saturated with color, and to inanimate objects unexpectedly taking center stage. Red and yellow lead the viewer through an uneasy day along Istanbul’s “wounded” streets—from passing graffiti to random pedestrians and flag-bearers. My attention was also caught by how often people photographed themselves against the backdrop of what was happening. Even an attempted coup can become a backdrop for a selfie.

Throughout these images, tension and calm continually give way to one another. Everyday life carries on alongside political crisis, until, by evening, the tension takes over. For me, this coexistence holds something of that endless human quest for harmony—the desire to live a normal life even when, for a time, the world around us stops being normal.

Awards & exhibitions:

2016 Collective exhibition in Ivan Franko National Library, Ukraine

2016 IPA (International Photography Awards) Lucie Awards. Won Gold in the category Editorial: Political