Serkan Çolak was born in Balikesir, Turkey. After living in several regions of Turkey, he settled in Izmir in 2005. He is the co-founder of MahzenPhotos collective and No. 238. Çolak is mostly concerned with documentary photography. His projects deal with different topics such as urbanisation processes, and focus on issues around cultural diversity and human rights in Turkey.
The subject of Çolak’s photos convey human resilience in the face of adversity, his unique staging of each photograph focalises on a specific point in his immediate surroundings to highlight and emphasise the aim of his project as a whole. His photographs do not take away agency from his subjects, but rather, through these series, the viewer is met with human counterparts that are made equal to themselves through the lens of Çolak.
Selected Events
Group Exhibitions
- 2013 Res, Institut Français de Turquie, Izmir, Turkey
- 2013 Sony World Photography, London, UK
- 2014 Aquadis, Institut français de Turquie, Izmir, Turkey
- 2014 MahzenPhotos, Bursa Photo Festival, Bursa, Turkey
- 2015 After Syria, Foto istanbul, Turkey
- 2015 Urban Transformation in Kadifekale, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
- 2015 MahzenPhotos, Kusadasi Photo Festival, Turkey
- 2015 MahzenPhotos, Antalya Photo Festival, Turkey
- 2015 City Diaries, The Photographers Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey
- 2015 52nd International Troia Festival, Canakkale, Turkey
- 2019 Ariano International Film Festival, Naples/ Italy
- 2019 Bronx Documentary Center PHOTO AUCTION BENEFIT 5TH ANNUAL, New York, USA
Personal Exhibitions
- 2017 Noir, Iz Performance, Izmir, Turkey
- 2018 Noir, No238,Izmir, Turkey
- 2019 On The Road, No238, Izmir, Turkey
- 2019 The Indian Photography Festival (IPF) State Gallery of Art Hyderabad, India
- 2019 International Polyphony Photo Festival, Calcutta, India
Publications
- 2019 On The Road, Self publishing, printed by Mas Matbaa.
Selected Awards
- 2019 First Prize, 2nd International Polyphony Photo Festival, India.
- 2016 Second Prize, Festival Internacional de la Imagen, Mexico.
- 2014 Special Award, BursaFotoFest.
- 2014 Third Prize, Festival Internacional de la Imagen, Mexico.
- 2013 National Award, Sony World Photography.
- 2013 Documentary Award, Golden Camera, Ukraine.
- 2012 Single Photo Award, 2nd Yilmaz Guney Culture and Arts Festival.
- 2012 Serial Photo Award, 2nd Yilmaz Guney Culture and Arts Festival.
More Artworks By Serkan Çolak
