Nilay Uluğ & Şevda Tuğrul 

 DEAR NİLAY, DEAR ŞEVDA 

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As two women artists living in İzmir and Diyarbakır who have never been introduced to one another but about to co-conduct a project in each other’s cities, we decided that adding our biographical stories is the most meaningful way to embark on this exchange. We started to get to know one another by asking questions about our cities and ourselves. This introduction phase transformed into an exchange of letters that covered our personal lives, and delved into concepts of the quotidienne, and the use of what is private and public. 

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Within this framework, exchanges around the cities we live in and more subjective issues like our childhood memories, the streets we live in, the cityscapes we encounter daily, the bus stops we use, our daily routines, objects that carry a meaning for us shaped our project.  We tried different methods such as choosing and regularly observing places we use frequently or feel we belong, going to our childhood neighborhoods to remember past days, sharing our morning routines or little secrets like a cicada collection or old ID photos. ik. 

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As our letters came together with our photographs, we felt like we were part of a story unbeknownst to us. Getting to know about and experience each other’s cities, places and habits reminded us that a journey is not always a physical one. So, we started to feel like we’ve known one another for a long time despite hundreds of kilometers between us.

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PROJECT TEAM: NİLAY ULUĞ (İZMİR) & ŞEVDA TUĞRUL (DİYARBAKIR) PAGE LAYOUTS: SERDAR DARENDELİLER