Nar Photos

Million Dollar View, Urban Transformation Pictures

NarPhotos photographers documented the surrounding neighbourhood of Istanbul between January 2012 and March 2013.

Photographers aimed to reveal the real scenery that lies behind the stereotype images. Istanbul became a migration receiving metropolis with the rapid growth after 1980s. Population of the city is estimated approximately 14 millions in 2011 which was around 3 million in the beginning of the 80s. The city started to spread out from the center to the borders with the increasing housing requirements and sheltering problems but actual governmental policies of urban transformation are primarily profit-oriented rather than humanistic. Residental districts located in the center of the city are being moved to the outskirts and people obliged to leave their home.

“How does urban renewal regenerate the city, what for? What kind of scenary does urban renewal bring us? What kind of a web of social relationship, class relations and social fabric could be shaped with it methaporically? Or what kind of landscape, geography and picture could be shaped with it in reality?

Phtographers Serra Akcan, Eren Aytuğ, Mehmet Kaçmaz, Tolga Sezgin, Saner Şen and Kerem Uzel

Nar Photos is an independent collective established in 2003 by photographers for whom documentary photography is a visual tool of “understanding and expressing” the world.

The aim is to show the various conditions in human life. For the members the way of making the projects has an importance as well as the final result. In these times where producing together, sharing the knowledge, support and collectivism become an exception. They belive that the function of the images has a priority over their plastic and esthetic values. Members do not accept what is given as the way it is, instead of staying satisfied with the answers they prefer to ask more questions. They produce photo reportages with the idea of trying to change the situation instead of admitting and protecting the existing circumstances.

Agency plans to share the work with people by using alternative methods like street exhibitions, mobile exhibitions etc. to have more effect in and intervene the daily life besides books, internet, publications, exhibitions. One of the goals of the agency is to share knowledge and experience with the young photographers by a non-profit workshop.

This post is also available in: Turkish