Remembering Me 2001-2005
“Since he began photographing in 2001
Ali Taptik has been documenting his life
in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul. But for
him, reality is only the raw material. He
creates his own reality with his
photography. He rearranges relations,
plays with facial expressions, and
changes the atmosphere. In this way he
constructs a new personal history
that - as he himself says - ‘is as real
as the pictures I make’. Memories can
blur, but photographs will continue to
exist. Thus it is plausible that
REMEMBERING ME (2001-2005), Taptik’s
fictional autobiography will ultimately
replace his personal history, not only for
those who view the photographs,
but also for Taptik himself.”
Wim Melis, 2005
for the “Traces and Omens” exhibition
in Noorderlicht Festival