Istanbul is witness to history. Istanbul is the heart of the world and a most vibrant witness of the beauties of living history. It is a rich city that has continued to welcome people of different cultures from past to present.

Istanbul: a city that makes the Black Sea and the Mediterranean meet in the Sea of Marmara and holds Europe and Asia’s hands where the sea flows. It joins the bridges and connects yesterday with tomorrow. Istanbul is the gateway to the Silk Road, a gate through which passed the Roman Emperors and the Ottoman Sultans. So did the greatest artists, writers and poets of the world.

Istanbul means the Bosphorus, the Maiden's Tower, The Galata Tower, the Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Hagia Sophia and Suleymaniye. It is cats, redbuds, seagulls, coffee, tulips, spice-smelling bazaars, fish and people from all over the world. I think that Istanbul is a dazzling, unique city that has made many artists fall in love with it and has always inspired them.

Like everywhere else, Istanbul (the city I live in and am in love with) is affected by the rapid change that the world is going through. The city, culture and humankind are changing day by day. As a young artist, I am a witness to the culture and my own age through the works that I produce. In this respect, I am always a pair of glass eyes (or a lens) that takes photographs of today's Istanbul, takes iconic photographs of the city inspired by my deep connection with it. I feel fortunate for taking photos of this unique city each season of the year and twenty-four hours a day, thus witnessing its change every second. 

Through my work, I focus on portraits, cities and people's stories. In this regard, as I document Istanbul through the art of photography, I aim to use unusual compositions and unfamiliar lights, thus leaving a permanent photo frame in the course of human history. I see photography as a way of thinking by associating with all the disciplines of art. I hope the photos I take show people how lucky they are as inhabitants of Istanbul.

I would like to have my project, called "Loving Istanbul", published as a photobook by a global publishing house in the near future. I use photography as a visual language to express light, composition and emotions in my rooted in my soul. My friend Cihat Zefer, himself a writer, once said "Istanbul! You are a city with a lovely sound. You should know that I heard you!" These lines express my emotion: “Your houses know how to swim, your fish know how to speak and your trees know to listen. Your seagulls know about loyalty, your pigeons are worth seeing near a fountain. Your ships know to lace pier by pier.”

LOVING ISTANBUL, 2019

About Nevzat Yildirim

Nevzat Yildirim was born in 1987 in Adapazari, Turkey. In 2010 he graduated with honours from the Photography and Graphic Arts department of the Fine Arts faculty of the Kocaeli University. The same year, Nevzat was selected as a winner of the Young Photographers Award in the Moon and Stars Project, organised in the US by the American Turkish Society. His works have been accepted into the photo collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

He has received over 40 awards from national and international photography competitions and his works can be found in private collections. Currently, Nevzat Yıldırım continues to work on a range of photographic documentary and contemporary art projects and since 2010 he has been teaching photography at various universities.

nevzatyildirim.com 

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