Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery is hosting a solo exhibition bringing together Manuel Çıtak’s photographic work, spanning from the 1980s, when he began his career in photography, to his untimely passing in 2023. Titled “An Island of One’s Own,” the exhibition is presented with the support of ON Digital Banking, the digital banking brand of Burgan Bank, which has sponsored photography exhibitions at Istanbul Modern since the opening of the museum’s new building.
“An Island of One’s Own” brings together works focusing on human existence in the city, its outskirts, and rural landscapes. Curated by Demet Yıldız Dinçer, with the curatorial team of Naz Uğurlu Benek and Tamar Çıtak, the exhibition aims to reveal Çıtak’s poetic relationship with documentary photography.
Alongside the artist’s widely recognized black-and-white coastal photographs depicting different facets of human life, the exhibition features color and black-and-white cityscapes, works produced in the panoramic format—which was not yet widely used at the time—as well as portraits and photographs taken in Anatolia and neighboring countries. Together, these works shed light on lesser-known aspects of Çıtak’s artistic practice.
Bringing together the artist’s entire career for the first time, “An Island of One’s Own” reveals Çıtak’s interest in everyday life, his inclination to work in series, his rich intellectual background, his keen sense of humor, his distinctive perspective, and his understated style. The exhibition also invites visitors into what the artist’s wife, author Şebnem İşigüzel, describes as his photographic world—“an island of his own,” created alone, independently, and in a state of voluntary solitude.
The exhibition “Manuel Çıtak: An Island of One’s Own” will be on view at Istanbul Modern Photography Gallery from November 5, 2026, to May 23, 2027.
