Aliye Erkurtulgu
Dumlupınar
My photography practice generally revolves around collecting instances and throwing a glance at the quotidian. My personal archive, composed of visual and audio recordings of souvenirs and memories, is an inseparable part of my life and grows by accompanying my daily routine...
For some time now, my living space is composed of a shed built on a large terrace. I consider it a safe space and do not want to be separated from it. Although I sometimes struggle to find a reason to go on the terrace, I get to observe my surroundings irrespective of time or season. Due to personal reasons and the pandemic, my relationship to my safe space transformed into a requirement rather than a choice. Although the neighborhood I was born in and lived all my life is a part of my safe space, for the time being, my view from the terrace shapes my sole experience with it.
It feels like Buca is looked down upon compared to other districts of İzmir. Perhaps because it is too crowded, socio-culturally diverse, or there is too much traffic and you feel the chaos of the metropolis... I feel like the Dumlupınar neighborhood, located right in the heart of Buca, is completely isolated from this chaos. The transformation this neighborhood is going through is minimal compared to other parts of İzmir and Buca. You can still recognize the faces on the street. We always elect the owner of the corner shop as the neighborhood representative so that we know where to find him.
My neighborhood is assorted with a kindergarten, middle and high schools, a church, a mosque, a venue for wedding ceremonies, dormitories, workshops, and a coal workshop... You will find residential buildings -usually no taller than 2-storeys since there is a limit enforced in the area- standing next to one another. Tiled roofs make up most of my field of view. Right across from me is the Catholic Church, the dogs barking in its garden and the priest shouting back at them. The lights of the church fall on to my terrace at night. These are all parts of my living space. Most of the residents of the neighborhood have little interaction with their surroundings, like me. With the pandemic, it feels deserted - everyone is at home and it is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. I have not spent a quiet day in this neighborhood prior to the pandemic as my house is right next to the kindergarten facing the firewood shop. The sounds coming from these spaces were parts of my living space. On the other hand, I cannot complain about the silence now... As everyone started staying home, my perspective of my surroundings had to change, too. During these times characterized by the lack of movement or people, I tried to capture images from my neighborhood without leaving my living space. In a way, adding some motion in my own life...
