BEYOGLU BLUE

20 x 24 cm
128 pages
80 color illustrations
English, German, Turkish
Texts: Mehmet Murat Somer

Kronas' atmospherically dense photo series tells of Beyoğlu, one of the many diverse and contrast-rich urban milieus in the metropolis of Istanbul. Beyoğlu is a district in the center of the city that was occupied exclusively by Europeans during the Ottoman Empire and which has since undergone fluid changes as it is shaped by the multiple identities of its residents. Various cultures and subcultures have carved out and structured their own territories here. The rules and dogmas of a predominantly Islamic society recede, and what is abnormal suddenly seems perfectly ordinary.

Kronas' photo series focuses on the transgender scene in Beyoğlu, mostly showing prostitutes who are part of the transsexual subculture. Their ambiguous bodies are set against the geographic patterns of the city.

Karsten Kronas (*1978 in Wiesbaden) studied photography at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld and at Marmara University in Istanbul and has been working as a freelance photographer since 2007. In 2009 he received a fellowship to work as city photographer of Koblenz.

Mehmet Murat Somer (*1959 in Ankara) is the author of the internationally successful Hop-Çiki-Yaya crime novel series, which is set in Istanbul's transvestite and transsexual milieu. He lives in Istanbul.