Referencing Istanbul's disappearing histories and urban ecologies in contemporary photography

Istanbul may be one of the most densely populated cities in the world, but it had once been recognized for its pastoral, picturesque beauty. This presentation focuses on the works of contemporary photographers who set up a temporal distanciation between Istanbul’s pastoral past and its overdeveloped present. This comparative temporal framework triggers a profound sense of personal and communal loss. Whether referencing late nineteenth and twentieth century imagery of popular recreation sites, Ottoman recreational activities or vintage family photos, photographers such as Ali Taptık, Cemre Yeşil and Maria Sturm point to the city’s disappearing ecologies. Taking an ecocritical approach to universal concepts of the pastoral and picturesque, the projects of these contemporary photographers raise critical questions about rapid urban change and its environmental impact. They implore an affective engagement with a specific urban locale, its living histories and its ecologies, both for viewers who are familiar with this city, as well for those who have only come to know it through images.