Ali Taptık

Nothing Surprising

2009—2013

The series “Nothing Surprising” investigates the notion of crisis, a word of Greek origin, with the etymological meaning pointing to a turning point in an illness. Realized in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis, the series of 48 images from demonstrations, political campaign rallies, natural disasters, and areas of redevelopment are combined with more intimate pictures depicting the personal crises of individuals. Images are presented without anchoring captions in a grid form to create a broader space for associations between the images. “Nothing Surprising” employs a similar visual language as “Kaza ve Kader” and can be considered a sequel in a larger body of work on the relationship between the individual and the city.

Familiar Strangers

2007—2009

In Familiar Strangers, Ali Taptik portrays his co-citizens in transitory urban settings. These large prints are made through on-site collaborations with strangers. A large format camera is utilized to create a metaphorical stage where through a slow process of negotiations with the subjects of the space, a portrait of the space and the person is achieved simultaneously.

White Lies

2007—2009

“At a time when employees get to work, the traffic calms down, shops open up, shipping trucks make it difficult to walk in the streets, doner kebaps just start to be cooked and homemakers see it as a blessing to pay the bills or do the market shopping, a different kind of action is rising upin one of the major parks of Istanbul. At the defined hours of the city when students probably start their second hour at school, there are those who do not prefer going to school that day. Those who prefer being at the instead of school.”

Excerpt from the article 
“TARIK WAS HERE’ OR SOME ORDINARY ENCOUNTERS” by Seda Hepsev published in ︎︎︎artciencia.com No:11︎︎︎

Kaza ve Kader

2004-2008

In contemporary Turkish, “Kaza ve Kader” can be translated as “Accident and Destiny” but when one considers the Islamic connotations of the words, they can be interpreted as “Event and Outcome” as well. In the series that consists of 52 images, the concept ‘accident’ is used in a threefold way: A metaphor for the multi-layered organic nature of Istanbul; a method of engaging with the urban environment through disassociated investigations of public and personal spaces and a contemplation on the accidental nature embedded in the practice of street photography, where one doesn’t know what will happen at 1/60th of a second during which the light registers an image of the events that are unfolding in front of the spectator.

Remembering Me 

2002—2005

“Since he began photographing in 2001 Ali Taptik has been documenting his life in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul. But for him, reality is only the raw material. He creates his own reality with his photography. He rearranges relations, plays with facial expressions, and changes the atmosphere. In this way, he constructs a new personal history that - as he himself says - 'is as real as the pictures I make'. Memories can blur, but photographs will continue to exist. Thus it is plausible that Remembering Me (2001-2005), Taptik's fictional autobiography will ultimately replace his personal history, not only for those who view the photographs, but also for Taptik himself.”

Wim Melis, 2005

for the Traces and Omens exhibition in Noorderlicht Festival