“Model ve Symbol” is an extensive photographic project by Katja Eydel, which came into being during her eight-month-long stay in Turkey. A main interest in her work has been the signifying character of our environment and the social representations contained in it. With “Model ve Symbol” Katja Eydel explores Turkey's modernization and its representation in three thematic fields: The history of architecture and urbanism, ceremonies and the way they are staged as well as (educational) institutions.

By tracing symbols and rituals, the photographs show not only the general impact these symbols have on the society but also their shifting meaning in everyday life. “Model ve Sembol” in this way spans a wide range between the idealistic and utopian basic of Turkey`s newly founded republic and its current reality as a social construction in the everyday. The works' underlying subject is the idea how politics or political will is realized and represented in aesthetic forms – a question Katja Eydel dealt with in other contexts as well.