Manuel Çıtak: An Island of One’s Own

The Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery hosts a solo exhibition of works by Manuel Çıtak (1962–2023), spanning from the 1980s, when he first took up photography, to his untimely passing in 2023. Comprising works that focus on human existence in the city, on urban peripheries, and across rural landscapes, “An Island of One’s Own” aims to illuminate Çıtak’s poetic dialogue with documentary photography.

Alongside Çıtak’s well-known black-and-white coastal photographs depicting diverse human conditions, the exhibition brings together color and monochrome cityscapes, panoramic works uncommon for their era, portraits, and photographs taken across Anatolia and neighboring countries, shedding light on lesser-known facets of his production.

Presenting his entire career together for the first time, “An Island of One’s Own” highlights Çıtak’s fascination with daily life, his inclination to work in series, his rich intellectual background, agile sense of humor, distinctive perspective, and understated style. The exhibition also introduces the viewer to what his wife, author Şebnem İşigüzel, describes as the artist’s “photographic world built in voluntary solitude, where he depended on no one; his very own island.”

Published in Turkish and English to accompany the exhibition, the bilingual catalogue features the exhibited artworks alongside a conceptual framework essay by curator Demet Yıldız Dinçer. The publication also includes essays by Şebnem İşigüzel, titled “An Island of One’s Own,” and Orhan Cem Çetin, titled “A Good Photographer.”

Curator: Demet Yıldız Dinçer
Curatorial Team: Naz Uğurlu Benek, Tamar Çıtak

About the Artist:

Manuel Çıtak was introduced to photography while studying in the Graphic Design Department at the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts. First gaining recognition in 1990 with his photo-reportage series on the Armenian community, Çıtak contributed to magazines such as Cornucopia, Skylife, National Geographic, and İstanbul, and shot photographs for various advertising and promotional campaigns. The initial works from his Kilyos coastal series, which spanned from the 1990s to the mid-2000s, were published in the daily newspaper Radikal in 1996. In 2000, he carried out the Kardelenler (Snowdrops) project. During those same years, he accompanied Orhan Pamuk on his travels to Kars; the photographs he took were featured on international covers of Pamuk's novel Kar (Snow, 2002) and accompanied numerous press interviews. Çıtak’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Üç Şehir Bir Kahve: Kahire-İstanbul-Viyana (Three Cities One Coffee: Cairo – Istanbul – Vienna, 2016), Röportaj Hikayeler, Geschichten, Stories (2003), Photography in Turkey (1999), and Boğaziçi’nde Yalılar, İnsanlar (Seaside Mansions and People on the Bosphorus, 1997). His first monograph, Blackbox Pocket Photo Albums No. 7: Appearance (Karakutu Cep Fotoğraf Albümleri No.7, Görünüş) was published in 1997, followed by a second retrospective monograph, Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series 16 Manuel Çıtak, published in 2025.

His work reached audiences through a wide array of group exhibitions, including: “Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar” (“Shared Sacred Sites,” Depo, 2019), “İnsan İnsanı Çekermiş” (“People Attract People,” Istanbul Modern, 2016), “İnanç” (Faith, Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, 2010), “İmalat Hatası” (Manufacturing Defect, 9th Istanbul Biennial, with the Hafriyat Collective, 2005), “Musulmans au Caire, à Téhéran, Istanbul, Paris, Dakar” (Parc de la Villette, Pavillon Paul Delouvrier, Paris, 2004), “Rıhtımlar Arasında” (Between the Waterfronts, Las Palmas, Rotterdam, 2002), “Kimlik ve Çevre” (Identity and Environment, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, 1999), “Méditerranéennes” (L'Atelier de Visu, Marseille, 1999), “Admissions of Identity” (City Museum and Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield, 1998), and “İstanbul - İnançların buluştuğu Kent” (Istanbul: The City Where Faiths Meet, Millî Reasürans Art Gallery, 1996). His first and only solo exhibition, “islomania,” opened at Depo Istanbul in 2022. His works are held in several prominent collections, including the Istanbul Modern Photography Collection.

Image:
Kilyos Beach
From the series “By the Shore”, 2000 (detail)
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Photography Collection