Publisher's Description
Turkey is often seen as the country that will bridge the gap between
the West and the Middle East. At the moment Turkey is at a political
crossroads itself, a crossroads that will define the very nature and
future role of the country. With a large, dynamic and young population
there is always hope that a truly democratic and liberal country
will emerge, and Turkey will be able to truly fulfil the role of a bridge
between culture and religions.
It is the very process of this modernization, urbanization and national
identity, happening at breakneck speed, against a backdrop of rising
nationalism and religion, which Georgiou’s work seeks to address
and question. He has chosen to represent this in an undramatic way,
focusing on the very quiet everyday life that most people in Turkey
experience.
Having spent nearly five years living in Turkey, George Georgiou was
surprised at how quickly change is taking place; landscapes, towns
and cities are being reshaped, an extensive road network is being
built, town centres are being ‘beautified’ and large apartment blocks
are springing up at a rapid rate around every town and city throughout
Turkey. Almost always, the architecture and infrastructure have
the same blueprint. Cities are beginning to become carbon copies of
each other.
One of the most immediate consequences is the rapid disintegration
of community that is so familiar in Turkish villages and towns.
Another issue is that the cosmopolitan urban centres, particularly
Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, and the coastal towns of the South and
West, have traditionally been the home of Ataturk’s children, the
upholders of secular Turkey. With the influx of a more provincial,
traditional, conservative and religious population into the cities, a
new tension is beginning to rear its head. This is in part seen in the
clash between the mildly religious Government of the AKP, whose
support comes from the countryside and the new urban population,
and the old secular parties of both left and right, who oppose all
reforms instigated by the Government on secular and nationalist
grounds. Added to all this is a highly politicized and powerful military,
the self-declared guardians of the republic, and the all-imposing
image and philosophy of Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Ataturk.
Fault Lines provides us with a fascinating look into the new Turkey
that is starting to take shape.
About the Limited Edition
Numbered and signed silver gelatin
print in numbered and signed book,
in slipcase.
Edition of 50 copies.
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