Şahin Kaygun

Şahin Kaygun (1951 - 1992) studied Graphics at Istanbul Applied Arts Academy. During his school years, Kaygun got interested in photography which was complemented by his graphic approach. He envisioned his photographs like frames from films in which he constructed his imaginary worlds by scratching, rubbing and scraping the delicate surface of the print, treating them with various paint.
Reminiscent of a cinematographic order, he made collages and arranged the Polaroids side by side or on top of each other to create mosaic-like compositions. By interweaving photography, graphic arts, cinema and painting, Kaygun formed a contemporary interdisciplinary vocabulary which makes him an avant-garde figure of Turkish photography. The artist passed away in 1992 and his two major books ‘The Notes from the Diary of a Photograph’ and ‘A Whole Life’ with an overview of his works were published the same year by the Ministry of Culture, Turkey.  Kaygun’s latest solo show was held at Galerist in 2022, titled 'Oblique', following the vast encompassing exhibition at Istanbul Modern  in 2014.