Ümit Ali Esinler Retrospective Exhibition

Date: 23 September – 12 October 2019

Place: SOL exhibition Gallery / Nicosia
Curator: Zehra Şonya

Artist : Ümit Ali Esinler

About Exhibition

Ümit Ali Esinler started his personal adventure with a camera that was given to him as a present when he was 8 years old in 1940. In the 1950s he turned to studio photography, while depicting human scenes on the street. In his studio and street photography practices, he does not discriminate people and portrays different characters. His mastery in using light is remarkable. He tries to go down to the essence of people and makes their character visible to the viewer. Esinler's famous statement 'I capture the photo of the light' reveals his view on this issue and witnesses the colorful adventure of photography.

In the 1960s, he was also brave enough to do nudes and exhibit them in his studio, which made him the first in this sense.

Although color photography and the advanced digital environment of photography did not give him much pleasure, he also set successful examples in this area. During this period, in addition to his past understanding, he also adds irony and criticism to his photography. Social problems, cultural changes and the changing demographic structure of Cyprus became the subject of some of his photographs

In the exhibition, which does not adopt a historical and categorized process in relation to the book, a compilation reflecting Esinler's understanding of photography throughout his life was created.

In this context, a selection of portraits, studio photographs, nude, landscapes, space, texture, color digital practices, and ironical and critical practices created by the post-modernist understanding were preferred. In addition to the original photographs, the process was explained with the photos printed later.

Kadir Kaba / Zehra Şonya