“Those Who Left” is a photobook and a speculative story of angst. The black and white portraits of young individuals with faces blended into the background are accompanied by a letter by the subjects of the images. In the letter said subjects with many others who have left their homes, friends and families make a declaration to explain their disappearance saying that they are collectively in search of a new life without the identities that are assigned to them. This narrative is related to Turkey’s post 1980 (coup d’etat) generation’s yearning to be a part of a transformation and a response to the apathy that is associated with them by the older generations.
This second edition of the publication was realized in English and Turkish by Onagöre in İstanbul with a revised design in 2021 whereas the first edition was self published and was able to meet a limited audience.
fatma belkıs 