BIO
Ali Taptık is an artist and publisher focusing on the representation of urban landscape and architecture, the relationship between the individual and the city, psychogeography, and the interaction of literature and visuality. In addition to working with institutions to document and research the ever-changing landscape of Istanbul, Taptık has published several books, including Kaza ve Kader (Filigranes Editions, 2009), Depicting Istanbul (Akin Nalca, 2010), There are no failed experiments (Atelier de Visu, 2012), and Nothing Surprising (Marraine Ginette, 2015). Her works have been exhibited in various institutions, including the Pera Museum, Salt (Istanbul), MAXXI (Rome), Ashkal Alwan (Beirut), and the Venice Biennale for Architecture. Taptık was one of the founders of the Bandrolsüz collective for distributing independent artists’ books and the Initiative for the Preservation of Historic Yedikule Gardens. Taptık works as the editor-in-chief of Onagöre︎︎︎, a publishing, research, and design studio, and as a curatorial advisor for 212 Photography Istanbul.
PROJECT
Ali Taptık’s ongoing project Osmanbey: Social and Spatial Entanglements investigates the interplay between commerce, urban transformation, and the intricate social fabric of a central Istanbul district. The iteration presented at Salt Galata comprises a two-channel video, along with an installation to be augmented by related documents and photographs throughout the exhibition. Blending visual storytelling with observational research, the work highlights the coexistence of diverse economic activities and the layered histories embedded in the district’s urban fabric. It sheds light on how spaces are transformed by overlapping systems of trade, culture, and identity.