See Kıvılcım S Güngörün.
Words by Diane Smith
“When I was little, my sister and I had a lot of collections: signs, rubber, napkins, rubber balls. I still love collecting. I also have collections of spoons, screws, trash. But my biggest collection is photos. I really love collecting moments.” Born in 1992, Kıvılcım S Güngörün has already taken thousands of photos, which are categorized into extensive and wide-ranging series. She captures everyday life in Istanbul (Imstantobul), her friends (Kportyu town), her travels through Europe (4 blue old), and herself, especially holding and caressing hands (Eldy sir). The images shown below are from the collage series “I lab yu”, inspired by her love of collecting.
“It’s mainly about questions,” she explains of the series. “I was collecting questions – things I was asking myself while shooting, or things I saw in the city. Then I decided to write them down so people could find their own answers.” Güngöln, a writer and photographer, has shared some of these questions on her website, and they are by turns amusing and thought-provoking. “Does time travel start with a telescope?” Among them are, “Can a single sentence become a draft of reality?” and “Why didn’t I think of this before shooting?”
A few months ago, the photographer released a book about Istanbul with Onagore Publishing House, which is part of an ongoing series on the city. She said there’s a lot going on in the region, in photography and culture in general. But it helps if you’re proactive, have a DIY attitude and are persistent in making things happen, she added. “Right now, the Turkish currency has fallen a lot, so it’s hard to travel,” she says. “But maybe that’s not so important. It might be nice to have your own scene, too. We’re here, we’re making something, and maybe in five years, things will be different.”
kivilcimgungorun.onfotomat.com
