‘Selected Moments’ commemorates Şakir Eczacıbaşı

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Modern is hosting an exhibition titled “Selected Moments” on the 10th anniversary of the death of businessperson and photographer Şakir Eczacıbaşı. Sponsored by the Eczacıbaşı Group and curated by Bülent Erkmen, the exhibition will be on view until March 31, 2021.

“Selected Moments” brings together impressionist photographs from the artist’s early years during the 1960s and also photographs from the 1980s, where he interprets the technical possibilities of photography in his distinct manner.
The exhibition portrays streets, which the artist describes as “the places where we are in our natural states” and the multilayered geography of Anatolia, host to numerous civilizations over the centuries.

While featuring human-centered works and portraits of important actors in the field of culture and arts, the exhibition also reveals the artist’s desire to search for a form of universal communication.

“Selected Moments” focuses on works in which the artist conveys the relationship of his subjects with their surroundings, other people, vehicles and roads. The exhibition contains more than 300 photographs, including works from the Istanbul Modern Photography Collection and a selection of photographs that the artist donated to the Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation.

Eczacıbaşı is widely considered to be one of Turkey’s leading contemporary photographers, said Oya Eczacıbaşı, chair of the Board of Istanbul Modern. “On this 10th anniversary of his death, we want to commemorate Şakir Eczacıbaşı, who made numerous contributions to the world of art and culture, with moments of life selected by him and reflected through his lens.”

“Şakir Eczacıbaşı was a multifaceted artist who questioned the formalism of photography in order to project the movement, uncertainty, and changes of daily life with his photographs,” she added.

Eczacıbaşı Group CEO Atalay Gümrah noted that the Eczacıbaşı’s final book, “Selected Moments,” which he completed right before he died, has been released by the Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation to coincide with this exhibition. The Eczacıbaşı Group has also launched a website, sakireczacibasi.com.tr., which provides details on Eczacıbaşı’s passion for art, his biography, and examples of his photographs.

Passion behind the camera

Erkmen explained that the exhibition conveys the diversity and richness of the color of moments in Eczacıbaşı’s view of life while showcasing images that add extraordinary emotions to ordinary moments.

“Şakir Eczacıbaşı approached the things he wanted to do, his pursuits and interests, life, and photography with appetite and enthusiasm,” Erkmen said. “He photographed every moment and everything he looked at. His world of photography was as rich as his voice, and to illustrate it, 50, 100, or 150 photographs aren’t enough.

This exhibition presents more than 300 photographs, and with this comprehensive selection, it aims to convey the diversity and colorfulness of moments in Eczacıbaşı’s view of life, the images that add extraordinary emotion to ordinary moments, and the versatile passion behind his unsteady and fidgeting camera.”