Mekân: Stories of Syrian Refugees

DEPO Istanbul, a space for critical debate and cultural exchange, presents until 12 March 2017 the exhibition Mekân: Stories of Syrian Refugees by NarPhotos Collective.

Twelve photographers from NarPhotos Collective, took photos in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Greece and Germany since the beginning of the civil war in 2011, and turned them into features which trace different themes relating to Syrian refugees. The exhibition includes 54 photographs compiled from those photo stories.

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Through each photo we witness the lives of civilians who are exposed to the most severe consequences of the crisis; to their dangerous journeys, time in refugee camps and struggles in big cities, to the families who try to stay together, to young people and children.

The word “Mekân” in the title, is a Turkish word of Arabic origin which is frequently used and it translates as “space of existence, place”. Its connotative meanings also include “home, locale”. Human mobility which increases with the escalating violence particularly in the Middle East, makes us rethink all the senses and associations of this word.

Considered as the biggest migration wave since the Second World War, the strenuous journeys of Syrian civilians render the questioning of all the human made borders necessary in order to be able to make a different world possible. “Mekân” includes the visual testimonies of NarPhotos photographers who wish to contribute to this process of questioning.

Nar Photos Collective is an independent collective based in Istanbul by photographers for whom documentary photography is a visual tool of  “understanding and expressing” the world. Nar Photos brings together the diverse viewpoints in Turkey through their egalitarian, democratic approach and their stance for freedom since 2003 until the present. The collective covered beside other subjects the Gezi Protests in Istanbul, the mine disaster in Soma or Yazidis Escaping the Islamic State. Their works were also on display 2014  in the exhibition On the Road at Istanbul Modern.

Address:

DEPO / Tütün Deposu Lüleci Hendek Caddesi No.12
Tophane 34425 İstanbul

until March 12th