Istanbul impressions of a German on display

When German photographer Ingo Mittelstaedt, 30, applied for a foreign exchange scholarship form the German National Academic Foundation, he selected Istanbul as the location for his 6 month-long photography project.

Istanbul was his choice for a variety of reasons. One of them was that it offered a rich working environment steeped in Eastern influence, very different from Western European cities such as Berlin where he lives and works.

The scholarship also enabled Mittelstaedt to return to Turkey, where he had once traveled for four weeks with his high school in Denmark. His group traveled in less seen tourist locations such as Isparta and UÅŸak and spent two and a half weeks doing a homestay with a Turkish family. Though unfortunately the group did not visit Istanbul, Mittelstaedt said his fond memories of his month in Turkey made his desire to come to the city even stronger.Â

Coming in October 2007, Mittelstaedt arrived during the 10th International Istanbul Biennial, an art exhibition of contemporary work, which he says was the perfect introduction to the city. However, in general Mittelstaedt spent his time discovering a different kind of art in Istanbul outside of galleries, as he explored streets and districts far off the beaten tourist track. He commented that Istanbul was city that seemed to have taken on a life of its own, growing by itself in contrast to highly planned German cities.

Quality of life
Often during his walks, Mittelstaedt collected objects of interest he found on the street and carried them back to his Kadıköy flat, where he later used them in arrangements for his photographs. For one photograph he manipulated an interesting assortment of objects that he found in the city.

Mittelstaedt said part of his art was creating a quality of life from still objects. Visitors to the "Capsules" exhibition often comment on figures of animals or human faces that they see in the photographs. He also hopes that observers will find something "precious" in the photographs, which he creates from materials he describes as "low, common or rubbish."

One of the most common questions that visitors pose to the young photographer is how his work relates to Istanbul. Mittelstaedt is quick to explain to visitors that he is not a documentary photographer, so the pieces in the "Capsules" collections do not capture Istanbul in terms of architecture or scenes of daily life. Instead, he explains: "My goal was to let Istanbul have an influence on my work."

To this end, Mittelstaedt spent much of his time walking in various neighborhoods of Istanbul to gain impressions. "I've never been in a city where I got lost so quickly," said Mittelstaedt, saying he particularly liked the vivid colors visible on the streets even in poorer neighborhoods.

In the course of getting to know Istanbul, Mittelstaedt visited in the Prince's Islands, quite empty on a weekday during the winter months, where he noted the grandeur of many old houses before stumbling upon a beach at the back of Heybeliada. He admired how the people living there creatively used a variety of materials and objects that washed up on the beach to construct their homes. It was this quality of "improvisation" that Mittelstaedt found in locations all over Istanbul that had the greatest impact on his work.

The "Capsules" collection by Ingo Mittelstaedt can be visited at Galerie Koal in Berlin through Nov. 30 or viewed online at www.galeriekoal.com.