Orçun Karamustafa © Anıl Arslan
Orçun Karamustafa © Çisem Soylu
About me:
Orçun Karamustafa, born in 1991, is a photographer who captures the vibrant and dynamic essence of Istanbul and its streets, musical scenes, the timeline of landscapes, and the traces of faces. His art is the pursuit of transforming ordinary urban landscapes and the objects that carry the traces of time in his other frames into images imbued with deep meanings. In his works, he centers on the conflicts inherent in life and the human struggle, questioning the individual's place amidst the chaos of the city. Karamustafa’s photographs seek to capture the rhythm of the city and life, resembling a musical monograph.
Since 2019, he has been continuing his career as an independent photographer. Between 2017 and 2019, he worked on projects related to the "İstanbul Film, Music, Theatre, Jazz Festivals" (İstanbul Film, Müzik, Tiyatro, Caz Festivalleri) and following them, the "İstanbul Design and Istanbul Biennials" (İstanbul Tasarım ve İstanbul Bienalleri) in the marketing department of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İstanbul Kültür Sanat Vakfı, IKSV).
In 2019, as part of the "Spaces of Culture" (Kültür İçin Alan) projects, he was in Izmir and Diyarbakır, where he took photographs for "Spaces of Culture" (Kültür İçin Alan), which were published in that year’s book. He also directed a documentary film titled Kalan. In 2021, he was awarded second place in a competition organized by Kız Başına with the project titled "If You’re Not Plastic, Do Something" (Plastik Değilsen Bir Şey Yap), focusing on the climate crisis. Additionally, he was awarded second place in the "Are You Aware?" (Farkında mısın?) competition organized by the Keep Your Trash Foundation (Çöpüne Sahip Çık Vakfı), and another one of his works was deemed worthy of being exhibited in the same competition.
Furthermore, he was one of 63 selected from 273 worldwide applicants in the Juried Exhibition Photography Day Queer Edition 2022 organized by the Norwegian National Museum of Photography – Preus Museum, with 10 of his photographs displayed in Oslo. These same photographs were also exhibited at the Merlinka International Queer Film Festival (Uluslararası Queer Film Festivali Merlinka) in Belgrade. Some of his photographs and films were exhibited at the Vienna and Athens Porn Film Festivals (Viyana ve Atina Porno Film Festivalleri). In November 2023, five of his nude-themed photographs were displayed in the "Civil Disobedience: Fake or Fact" exhibition in Athens, and these photographs were also published in Flut Magazine, an annual publication based in Dresden, Germany.
Austria's ORF television channel featured him in the promotion of the Vienna Porn Film Festival (Viyana Porno Film Festivali). In 2024, he was appointed Director of Photography and Video under the Vienna Porn Film Festival (Viyana Porno Film Festivali). One of his photographs was also exhibited at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale Turkey Pavilion under the project "GHOST STORIES: The Sack Theory of Architecture" (HAYALET HİKÂYELERİ: Mimarlığın Çuval Teorisi), organized by IKSV.
He prepared the promotional film for the Canlandıranlar Festival, held from October 17 to 23, 2022, and photographed the festival throughout its duration. He also edited the feature-length documentary We Trusted Your Face (Yüzüne Güvendik), made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. Additionally, he photographed and edited videos for the Izmir Women’s Congress (İzmir Kadın Kongresi), which first took place on February 2, 1923, and again on February 2, 2023.
In 2023, he held a workshop titled "The Mystery of the Image: Black and White Photography" (İmgenin Gizemi: Siyah Beyaz Fotoğraf) at the Pera Museum. He was a guest on the podcast program "Tell Me Briefly" (Kısaca Anlat) by Accessland Live, where he discussed his journey to becoming a photographer. He also shot the album photos for Zeynel Günbek's Divan & Divine album, released by ARC, a UK-based music company. The album ranked 31st among the top 200 albums of 2023 worldwide.
On February 7, 2024, he participated in the group Pop Art exhibition at the launch party of Fırat Uran’s book Olamayanlar 2 with three of his photographs. He also served as assistant director and editor on the adult films Turkish Hammam (Turkish Hamam), Turkish Cum, Shibari Turk I (Shibari Türk I), Shibari Turk II (Shibari Türk II), and Naked Pianist. He took on the role of assistant director for Turkey’s first gay TV series, Black Dog (Kara Köpek).
In 2024, from September 23 to October 12, he showcased his solo exhibition İst-anbul, reflecting Istanbul's vibrant and dynamic spirit, at Müze Gazhane.
.News links:
https://artsandseptember.blogspot.com/2024/01/teneke-trampet-embracing-our-work-with.html?m=1
https://www.marketingturkiye.com.tr/kampanyalar/dogdu-gunesim/
https://www.artfulliving.com.tr/gundem/orcun-karamustafanin-fotograf-serisi-our-queens-merlinka-festivalinde-i-26748
https://www.instagram.com/p/CfPNFPNvYRQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.gazetekadikoy.com.tr/kultur-sanat/bizim-kizlar-sirbistan-yolcusu
https://artdogistanbul.com/pera-muzesi-fotograf-atolyeleri/
https://www.peramuzesi.org.tr/pera-ogrenme/atolye/imgenin-gizemi-siyah-beyaz-fotograf/4550
https://turkiyepavyonu23.iksv.org/hayalet-hikayeleri-konaklama-yapilari
https://www.farkindamisinyarismasi.org/sergi.html
https://accessland.live/event/event/10-bolum-nasil-fotografci-oldum-2384
https://artigercek.com/makale/unutunca-olecek-misin-247200
https://wannart.com/icerik/43366-canay-doganin-yeni-teklisi-darmadagin-yayinda
https://merlinka.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/katalog-queer-europe.pdf
https://kalendar.novisad2022.rs/en/events/queer-europe-3/
https://gayecho.com/news/otvaranje-izlozbe-kvir-evropa-u-novom-sadu/
https://www.meinbezirk.at/margareten/c-lokales/vernissage-und-prozente-fuer-nackte-maenner-bei-gayt_a5976376
https://athenspff.com/2023-2/festival-23/greek-short-2023/
https://nonstopkino.at/movies/pornights-nature-porn-shorts/
https://www.queermuseumvienna.com/ecosexuality-nature-porn-shorts-x-qmw-2/
https://avmag.gr/politiki-anypakoi-civil-disobedience-epistrefei-sto-hgw-std-gia-dyo-savvatokyriaka/
https://www.artfulliving.com.tr/gundem/queer-kimlikler-uzerine-whats-your-name-sergisi-i-29855
https://sanatokur.com/whats-your-name-sergisi-saye-kolektifte-aciliyor/,
https://cerezzine.com/orcun-karamustafadan-whats-your-name-sergisi-saye-kolektifte/
https://www.tv100.com/kimliklerin-sinirlarini-asan-bir-bulusma-orcun-karamustafadan-whats-your-name-sergisi-haber-741430
https://www.instagram.com/sanattanbihabervar/p/C4iHMDOoMOi/?img_index=1
https://esel.at/termin/123801/pffv-x-academy-of-fine-kink-new-intimate-horizons
https://www.dirensanat.com/2024/03/16/orcun-karamustafadan-whats-your-name-sergisi-saye-kolektifte-queer-kimlikler-uzerine/
https://www.oehakbild.info/finekink/pursuing-real-feelings/
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/siyahedergi-sayi2-emekveonur#page/4
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/or%C3%A7un-karamustafa-69186163_i%CC%87talyan-dergisi-terra-santada-i%CC%87talo-rondinella-activity-7222583166862016515-hxGd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
https://www.ekonomim.com/kultur-sanat/orcun-karamustafanin-ist-anbul-sergisi-muze-gazhanede-acildi-haberi-768839
https://www.t24.com.tr/haber/orcun-karamustafa-nin-objektifinden-ist-anbul-sergisi,1185613
https://sanatokur.com/orcun-karamustafanin-objektifinden-ist-anbul-sergisi/
https://www.rotka.org/orcun-karamustafa-ist-anbul-baslikli-sergisi-ile-muze-gazhanede-sanatseverlerle-bulusuyor/
https://kadikoygazetesi.com/90460-orcun-karamustafanin-ist-anbulu-muze-gazhanede-sergileniyor
https://www.artfulliving.com.tr/gundem/orcun-karamustafanin-ist-anbul-sergisi-muze-gazhanede-i-31208
https://gazetekadikoy.com.tr/kultur-sanat/istanbuldan-anlik-kareler
https://gazetekadikoy.com.tr/kultur-sanat/muze-gazhanede-ist-anbul-sergisi