Familiar Unknown

This project was created during my Photography studies. The assigned theme was "The Familiar UNKNOWN".

As a child and teenager, I was constantly involved in different activities. I was a licensed competitive swimmer, took ballet and hip-hop classes, performed in a theatre group, played in a recorder ensemble, and danced in a Turkish folk dance group.

Every Friday evening, I spent my time in this place, where I rehearsed Turkish folk dances. At first, there were only two groups: an older group and an intermediate group. I simply joined the intermediate dancers. As time passed, a third group was formed.

In traditional Turkish folk dance, the group is usually led by a man. However, I became the leader of my group. To take on this role, I wore the traditional men's costume and tied back my hair, stepping into a position that challenged conventional gender expectations while becoming an entirely natural part of my own experience.

Many years later, I returned to this place with my camera. I photographed the space, my costume, and the complex emotions that resurfaced—feelings suspended between familiarity and estrangement. The project became an exploration of memory, identity, and belonging, tracing how a place that once felt like home can, over time, become both deeply familiar and strangely distant.