Call me Ci. I was born in Beyoğlu, Istanbul on July 6th, 1986. I studied Italian Language and Literature at Istanbul University. Following that, I worked for advertising agencies as a copywriter and creative director for many years. I was 28 when I discovered visual storytelling. I did music photography and photojournalism for a while, then I decided to devote my time solely to my own stories.

My work is focused on Istanbul and its personal psychogeography. Adopting documentary as a secondary function, I tell stories using the scenes of my city. My distinct colour palette is a derivation of the look of Italian giallos from the ‘70s, and I take cues from the cinematography of classic horror films in my visual language. All of my photographs take place in the daytime.

You can watch me talk about these things on Nowness.

More about my work

  1. More information
  2. Exhibitions
  3. Texts
  4. Assignments



Favourites

Fujifilm X70 (2016)
Suspiria (1977)
Cat’s Cradle (1963)
 The Smiths (1984)
Timeline of the far future



Blog posts

2023-08-29    Suzan

Short posts on Threads

Ci Demi is a photographer based in Istanbul. His work focuses on the personal psychogeography of the city.




Istanbul Stumble


Istanbul Stumble (2023 - 2024) is a photo-story where the author imagines it’s his first time visiting the city, focusing on stumbling upon the essence of it through a curious gaze.
Playlists





Şehir Fikri (Notion of a City)


Şehir Fikri (Notion of a City) is a photobook set in an Istanbul where there are no people or languages. The book was published by Onagöre in December 2022.

Get the book


As seen on


Playlist





Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget)


Unutursan Darılmam (No Offence If You Forget, 2018 - 2023) is a photobook project about clinging to Istanbul and rediscovering life during a three-year-long depression.

Status

  • As of July 2023, I completed the shooting phase of the story.

Award

  • Encontros da Imagem: Discovery Awards 2022, Winner

Exhibitions

  1. Mamut Art Project (2022)
  2. Encontros da Imagem (2022)

As seen on





Will the World End in the Daytime


Will the World End in the Daytime (Kıyamet Gündüz Mü Gelecek, 2017 - 2019) is a fictional photo-story about the imminent devastating earthquake that scientists predict will happen in Istanbul.
Exhibitions

  1. Les Rencontres d’Arles as part of A Pillar of Smoke (2018)
  2. Jimei x Arles International Photography Festival (2018)

As seen on





Photo-essays


Winds Between Us (New Zealand, 2023)



Eminönü Blues (2020 - 2021)



Dark Blue Doors And Good Intentions (2020 - 2021)



How to Panic Gracefully (2020)



Fabric (2017)



How Long Is Your Stay (2017)



Ci Demi, MMXXIV