"Şakir Eczacıbaşı: A Selection"

Çetin Altan wrote in 1983: "Şakir isn't actually taking photographs, he's painting the world with the colors of his soul... That flower in the window, that ferry, those fish, that padlocked door, those children, that balloon seller, they must have appeared to him in such a way... There's something different in those approaches than in the expression with palette and brush... When a painter tries to surpass the lens, wouldn't it be absurd for the expert to try to disconnect the lens from its master? When an art form proves that one branch cannot fill the void of another, that's when it becomes art."

Şakir Eczacıbaşı presents a selection of his forty years of photographs taken between 1965 and 2005 at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery from June 1st to June 18th. A selection of writings written on the dates of the photographs is presented in the catalog prepared for the exhibition.

The exhibition catalog begins with a text titled "Once there was a child who went out" written by Robert Wilson on March 7, 2005, in Japan, where he addressed Şakir Eczacıbaşı as "my friend for today and for all days." In addition to the photographs, the catalog includes writings by Ismail Cem, Abidin Dino, Orhan Duru, Refik Erduran, Talat Halman, Nuri İyem, Onat Kutlar, Nüvit Özdoğru, Bülent Özer, Kaya Özsezgin, Gürol Sözen, and Haldun Taner.

In a text written in 1990, Abidin Dino asked, "Is Şakir Eczacıbaşı a photographer, a painter, or a writer who uses a camera instead of a pen?" and said, "Look at his photographs and decide for yourself." To answer these questions or to remember Şakir Eczacıbaşı, who devoted his years to photography, the selection at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery is a great opportunity.

As expressed by Onat Kutlar, "Right there, as if I can see the artist watching us with his eyes wide open and smiling with curiosity like a lens: Şakir Eczacıbaşı..."