This year, the Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series presents Ergun Çağatay's retrospective. Published by the Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation, the series focuses each year on a prominent photographic artist from Turkey.
The book covers the life and works of journalist and photographer Ergun Çağatay, who passed away in February in 2018, with a retrospective that reaches from the past to the present and is the ninth book in the Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series.
The book's concept and design was prepared by Bülent Erkmen. Edited by Merih Akoğul, the retrospective is published in Turkish and English.
Editor Merih Akoğul says in the introduction: "Ergun Çağatay's photography is a qualified extension of the archaic photo-interview tradition. All the changes in the world, disasters, deteriorating balances, the colorful mosaics of cultures, draw photographers who record them. The short moment that these photographers fit inside the frame reflects their worldview and philosophies and gives valuable messages to those who will read it."
About Ergun Çağatay
Ergun Çağatay was born on Jan. 15, 1937, in İzmir province. He graduated from Robert College and continued his university education at Istanbul University Faculty of Law. After his third level, he left law school for military service.
He started his career as a copywriter at an advertising agency and became a journalist when he saw an announcement by a newspaper looking for a trainee journalist.
Çağatay's life was intertwined with his projects. The topics he has chosen have been handled with the finest detail. His photographs, research and works are milestones in the history of culture.
His work exceeded the borders of the country. He was one of the wounded survivors of the explosion at Paris Orly Airport. He took to the road to tell the stories of survivors without waiting to recover.
He was passionate about reporting and telling people's stories. He believed that life is a project, and he lived his life as if he were a part of a big project.
In addition, he left dozens of exhibitions, published and unpublished projects, a huge archive of over 120,000 black-and-white and diapositive photographs that have contributed to world culture, and dozens of photographs that are important in the history of journalism.
Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series
The Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series has been part of the Eczacıbaşı Group's photography publishing tradition for over 50 years. The tradition was started by the Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation with photographic annuals, presenting retrospectives of many Turkish photography artists. Eczacıbaşı Photographers Series has published retrospectives of Şakir Eczacıbaşı, Ara Güler, Ozan Sağdıç, Sami Güner, Sabit Kalfagil, İzzet Keribar, Ersin Alok, Yıldız Moran and Ergun Çağatay.