City: The New Backyard

• Photographer
  Seref Ali Taser
• Prize
  Gold in Editorial / Photo Essay

This project documents the living environment of rural to urban migrants in Istanbul. These migrants came from rural Turkey and left their livelihood to find jobs and improve their life standards. However, they failed to integrate fully to the mega city and were cut off from their pasts. A new kind of citizens emerged; these new urbanites seek the open spaces and their communal living habits in the center of the city. They "spill over" to the public sphere, invade and manipulate it. This search for a breathing space pushes them to create their own "backyards" right in the middle of Istanbul.