Turkey’s best-known photographer, Ara Güler (1928–2018), depicted daily life in Turkey for three-quarters of a century. Güler captured the rough edges of Istanbul as well as all its splendour. Celebrated as ‘The Eye of Istanbul’, his poignant black-and-white images of his beloved city’s inhabitants, streets and docks remain his most celebrated works. But Ara Güler was far more than that. He created reportage photography over the world, including in Somalia, Eritrea and Afghanistan. He photographed celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dalí, Maria Callas and Sophia Loren. His versatility can also be seen in experimental collages from the early part of his career and in more recent work when he plays with light and colour.
Being a testament to Turkey’s rich history, A Play of Light and Shadow offers a contemporary view of Güler’s work while also providing the opportunity to explore iconic and unknown parts of it.
With text contributions by art historian Kim Knoppers, curator and head of photography department at Istanbul Modern, Demet Yıldız Dinçer, photographer and filmmaker Ahmet Polat, and Claartje van Dijk, curator and head of exhibitions at Foam in Amsterdam.
