Protest Chronicles: London 2019-2024
This book is a documentary of various protest demonstrations that took place in the streets of London between 2019 and 2024. For five years, my lens captured the passion, anger, hope, and determination of crowds gathered across different corners of the city. Each frame is not merely a visual record of a moment but an echo of voices, slogans, expressions, and movements.
One of the most powerful aspects of documentary photography is its ability to transcend time, preserving social events and movements in a permanent form. The demands that echoed through the streets of London reflect a pure and genuine desire for change. These protests are not just the voices of particular groups but also a reflection of universal issues such as justice, equality, environmental awareness, and human rights.
“Protest Chronicles: London 2019-2024” represents the idea that a photographer is not only an observer but also a witness. The photographs strive not only to document moments but to capture the stories, emotions, and collective consciousness behind them.
While preparing this book, I have made every effort to preserve the context and emotion behind each photograph. As you navigate through these images, I hope you become a part of this journey. The narratives these visuals offer aim to contribute to the social memory of an era and a city.
I hope everyone who explores this book can hear the voices and stories within these images.
This book is a documentary of various protest demonstrations that took place in the streets of London between 2019 and 2024. For five years, my lens captured the passion, anger, hope, and determination of crowds gathered across different corners of the city. Each frame is not merely a visual record of a moment but an echo of voices, slogans, expressions, and movements.
One of the most powerful aspects of documentary photography is its ability to transcend time, preserving social events and movements in a permanent form. The demands that echoed through the streets of London reflect a pure and genuine desire for change. These protests are not just the voices of particular groups but also a reflection of universal issues such as justice, equality, environmental awareness, and human rights.
“Protest Chronicles: London 2019-2024” represents the idea that a photographer is not only an observer but also a witness. The photographs strive not only to document moments but to capture the stories, emotions, and collective consciousness behind them.
While preparing this book, I have made every effort to preserve the context and emotion behind each photograph. As you navigate through these images, I hope you become a part of this journey. The narratives these visuals offer aim to contribute to the social memory of an era and a city.
I hope everyone who explores this book can hear the voices and stories within these images.
June…
A time when the sky feels bluer, the streets bolder, and hearts more visible.
Around the world, rainbow flags are raised—not only as symbols of identity, but as emblems of resistance, existence, and a collective voice.
Pride is not just a celebration.It is the echo of silenced voices,
the rewriting of stories once erased. Each year, at the end of June, LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies gather to mark the anniversary of a spark that ignited in the summer of 1969—when a police raid at New York’s Stonewall Inn was met with resistance.That night, those pushed to the margins stood up.
They locked the doors on oppression and opened a window to history.
What began as four days of protest became a beacon for generations to come.
And that light—it never went out.
It continues to shine in every proud step, every defiant smile, every loving embrace on the streets of Pride. My path passed through that light.
In the faces I encountered on the street; in those walking tall, holding hands, dancing freely,in the courage of a young person with brightly dyed hair,
in the gentle smiles of parents standing beside their children—
I witnessed the same truth, again and again:The place where resistance meets love. With my eye trained by documentary street photography,
I feel honored to have witnessed these moments.Each frame in this book is more than just an aesthetic capture— it is a feeling, a moment, a statement.
This book is not merely a visual archive; it is a tribute, a thank-you, and a celebration.This journey didn’t begin with them, and it won’t end with them.
Because love transcends time, space, and fear.And when all else fades,
it is love that remains—pure, unfiltered, and full of color.
I dedicate this book to all those who, knowingly or not, stood before my lens and allowed me to capture their light.
To the guests who smile at us from these pages—
Thank you for making the world bolder, kinder, and more beautiful.
With love.
🌈
This book consists of my archive between 2014-2020. In the photographs I took, I aimed to focus more on the emotional moments of the people who are your models and to emphasise what they feel by freeing them from their identities. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoy shooting and we feel the same emotions together.
The relationship we have established with many of my models has evolved from photography to completely different points, although I have not personally shared them and their stories, they will all remain a secret to me for a lifetime. I bow concerning the memories of Uncle Hakkı, Ahmet Abi, Yaşar Usta and İlhan Abi who have very beautiful memories and memories of me.
I Can't Breathe
The brutal killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in May 2020 was recorded by people before and after the murder, and after it was recorded on social media, similar problems were experienced in almost every country in the world, especially in the US. Despite the pandemic and quarantine measures, people took to the streets, protested and somehow demanded accountability.
In general, it is possible to say that the root causes of all civil movements are based on social justice, human rights demands, anti-racism, freedom, equality, welfare and similar causes.
This book is about the protests that took place in Oxford and London in August and are a tribute to the people around the world who lost their lives against racism, injustice and discrimination.
KAKAVA Behind The Scenes
This book is about Kakava and Hıdırellez, one of the indispensable Turkish holidays celebrated on May 5th. According to Islam, Hıdırellez is celebrated as the day when the prophets Hızır and İlyas met on Earth. It also celebrates the arrival of summer. People pray on this day, regardless of their wishes. They secretly write or draw their wishes on a piece of paper and throw it into the Tunca River and then come to the festival area and continue their celebrations. Many photographers work in the festival area. But I wanted to share about the festival, how Roma people prepare for the festival and what they do after the festival. This project lasted 2 years between 2018-2019. I am grateful to everyone I met and photographed for this book.
This project consists of photographs I took between 2015 and 2020. I wanted to focus more on the emotional moments of the people who are my subjects in the photographs I took sincerely. I aimed to highlight the feelings of my models by stripping them of their identities. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed taking them and that we experience the same emotions together. No matter how much I don't know my models, maybe I will never see them again, but the story of most of them will remain with me.
I thank all my models for accompanying me in this process.