m._vedat_ozan

meta morph

how sad it is to see the "new" istanbul rising from the left side of the photograph in the form of the skyscrapers. they represent the new and global culture of the present era rapturing through the sky with a disturbing arrogance that is backed up by the color of the darkening sky, versus the "remains" of the cosmopolit and less "civilised" istanbul, shared and lived by different cultures -and ofcourse with no skyscrapers- now fading away both physically and mentally.

once upon a time -not long ago-, it was only the minarets of the mosques and the bell towers of the churches that were contradicting the horizontal "facade" of the city. the marmara sea, the bosphorus, the golden horn, hills and the green were seen and shared in a just manner between the inhabitants, rather than by the officers of the 26th floor of a x000dollars/mt.square valued "smart building" flat.

i know that what i wrote is not a critique of a photograph.

also, neither it is a hopeless resistance to the time passing, nor something against the modern architecture. it is only a desperate cry after the local culture being invaded by the global empire.

those two skyscrapers are owned and operated by two multinational hotel chains, offering their guests rooms that are identical to each other and a view of the city with an extra price, while blocking the view of the backgorund inhabitants and distorting the famous horizontal line of the city inherited through centuries.

so what ? money talks...

ever since i first saw the hardcopy of this photo, i am trying to find what in this image reminds me of the dramatic landscapes in some far eastern movies. maybe the background, the clouds -though a bit manipulated by loris ? or the plastic in the wind which reminds me of a soul trying to reach a media of freedom but unfortunately captured at the last minute ? or the strict and heritaged rules of the society represented by the fence ? or the barbed wire, with a lot of blanks to be filled by every "subject" ?

not to think a lot, this photograph is absolutely the masterpiece of your "open to public" portfolio from my subjective standing.

congratulations.

vedat.

p.s. my vote is for b/w version, which i beleive is visually sharpening the contradictive feelings in this photo.