Berk Kir ( b. 1997) is a Turkish photographer who graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University with degrees in art history and cultural heritage preservation.  Through photography he focuses on emotional transitions and the idea of public photography via large scale photo installations. Last year he was listed among Europe’s 100 Emerging Talents by GUP magazine.  From a subjective perspective Berk explores conceptual thinking, image theory and the human/body relationship in his work. 

Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences please.

I get the biggest inspiration in my life from my own transformative potential. Istanbul keeps this potential dynamic and intense. Walking is essential for my creativity, it allows me to see, think and design a lot of things in my mind while absorbing the environment, a state I call “flow”. 

Tell us about your creative process. 

It starts while walking, I tend to think and collect moments from different memories.  I am a good observer, I instrumentalize my body in this process. I declare myself as the center of a memory and I develop the narrative. As an urban actor, I consider everything I consume as a starting point or a turning point for designing my work. For example, I examine the language-object relationship through the sentences used as idioms in Turkish daily life.

What do you think of the art world 

I am often called an optimist. By accepting this, I believe I am answering your question. I would like to believe that it is walking like this; It is an order in which a perceived potential is given a chance, opportunities are given for agile ideas to express themselves, institutions, initiatives, museums or galleries adopt transparency. I think the first rule of this order is the continuity of change. If there is no change, the gaze may be blunted.

Anything coming up that we should know about?

I'm working on something that is outside of my own discipline - theater. I want to build a  connection between theater and photography and I have some ideas in mind. Stay tuned. 

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Photo of Berk by Ozan Tezvaran

Photography courtesy of artist.