“Photography: A broken mirror. The love-hate relationship between photography and memory”
There is probably a survival value that could be associated with the dynamic and variable aspect of the personal memory, in its aim to protect the ego. On the one hand, becoming aware of this variability, this volatility is quite frightening. The appetite that people have for making a record of their experiences must probably be due to this fear. Photography’s explosive development from the time of its invention to the present-day and its transformation into a prosthetic visual memory could thus be explained. On the other hand, the fact that photographic records are static and that they have an existence beyond our control today could eliminate the function mentioned earlier. This is why we both utilise photographic records to keep a check on our memory, and also feel uncomfortable with them, and sometimes want to erase, change, and put them in order again and again. What’s more, this could be observed both in personal and social processes of constructing a history. In this seminar, the love-hate relationship between photography and memory will be opened to discussion within this framework.
Orhan Cem Çetin was born in Istanbul in 1960. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the Department of Psychology of Boğaziçi University and obtained his master’s degree from the Department of Visual Communication Design at Istanbul Bilgi University. When he opened his first solo exhibition “Tanıdık Şeyler” (Familiaria) in 1988, he attracted attention due to his alternative approach to photography. Since then, Çetin has realised numerous solo projects, and participated in various collaborative projects with artists from different disciplines. Orhan Cem Çetin is known for his conceptual, interdisciplinary and courageous attitude in his exhibitions, shows and performances. Çetin, whose personal works, essays and criticisms appear in various print and on-line media, continues to work on his works of art and earns his living by working as a freelance photographer, a photography consultant and a photography instructor. Having worked as a lecturer and at an administrative capacity in various universities since the late 1980s, Çetin currently works as an instructor at Galata Fotoğraf Akademisi and is a faculty member of the Photography and Video Department at Bahçeşehir University. The artist has published a mini-album titled Renk’arnasyon in 2000, and a book consisting of photographs and texts containing black humour, titled Bedava Gergedan (Rhino for Free), in 2004.
The event is free of charge.
Invitations available from the Akbank Sanat ticket office on the event day, one hour before the event begins.