Taksim Square, May 31 – June 9, II
2015

Pen and pencil on paper
Dimensions: 120 x 140 cm

Presented in reverse chronological order (III, II, I) these three drawings look at Taksim Square, Istanbul over a period of 10 days; from the announcement of the 1st Turkish general election results (June 9) back to the evening of the second anniversary of the Gezi Park protests (May 31).

Under national flag bunting the mass of Istiklal street signs is visible alongside groupings of police and police vehicles (T4, T5, T12, T23, T155). Also documented is the amassing and removal of election campaign advertising, the presence of television journalists and news helicopters; and the daily movements and encounters between diverse constituents in the Square: tourists taking selfies, men drink çay, Syrian boys selling whirly-gigs and water, birdseed sellers tossing seeds, prostitutes giggling and chatting with passing men and Middle Eastern tourists dressed in niqabs.

Photographer Jens Ziehe
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