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Exhibition: "Selfhood" | 7-22 June
Next Exhibition: "Selfhood" | 7 June
Curated by Dr Nilay Islek
07.06.2025 - 22.06.2025
Exhibition Overview
A Contemporary Photography Exhibition Focusing on Individuality at Versus Arts
Versus Arts will host the group photography exhibition Selfhood from June 7th to 22nd, 2025, centring on the concepts of individuality and selfhood.Curated by Dr Nilay İşlek, the exhibition brings together 7 contemporary photographers who approach the theme of selfhood with their unique languages, inviting the audience on both a visual and intellectual journey.
A Visual Dialogue on Selfhood
“Being” delves into the relationship individuals have with themselves, the multi-layered structure of identity, and internal transformations.The participating artists, through their works rooted in their personal contexts, present powerful and intimate narratives on the search for selfhood in contemporary society.The works in the exhibition range from direct portraits to abstractions, from digital interventions to classic frames, creating a multifaceted space for the interpretation of selfhood.
Artist List
is a London-based artist, academic, and curator originally from İzmir, Turkey. She studied photography at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dokuz Eylül University and completed her PhD at the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema at Ege University, focusing on visual culture, collective memory, and conceptual photography aesthetics.
Known for her interdisciplinary approach that combines artistic production, curatorial practice, and education, İŞLEK has taught photography in various institutions over the years and actively participated in documentary, conceptual, and cross-cultural projects. In 2016, she became the first female photographer from Turkey to be awarded the title of “X-Photographer” by Fujifilm.
In 2018, she relocated to London after being awarded the prestigious “Exceptional Talent” artist visa by the United Kingdom. As an extension of the Artlens Visual Culture and Photography Workshop she founded in İzmir, she established Artlens London Visual Art Atelier in 2019. İŞLEK continues her artistic production and workshops in London, where her interdisciplinary projects focus on themes of memory, identity, and place.
Chloi Kountouridou
(b. 1996, Greece) is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in London. Her practice predominantly focuses on documentary photography and video, often using analogue mediums and techniques to create intimate and observational narratives.
Gian Maitelli
(b. 1990, Brazil) is a contemporary photographer based in London. By observing the sensibility in the ordinary and the quotidian, Maitelli's photographic vision captures street moments with a humanistic and poetic approach.
Hüseyin Ovayolu
was born in Gaziantep, Turkiye. He studied Photography and Video at Istanbul Bilgi University on a full scholarship. He was among the first participants of the Documentary Photography School organized by the Photography Foundation. Throughphotography, he seeks to narrate personal histories and collective memory. His artistic practice is rooted in geographies where land, conflict, and identity are deeply intertwined. He primarily produces work in the Middle East and Eastern countries, focusing on how place shapes people’s lives, memories, and social fabric. Ovayolu is an artist who conveys personal stories and collective memory through the language of photography. He has been living in London, UK since 2022.
Nacho Rivera
(Madrid, 1977) is a Spanish photographer and educator based in London. With a mindful and artistic approach, the thread of human experience runs through his work. He delights in detail, highlighting the subtle and the unexpected, creating thoughtful, serene and meaningful images, with an emphasis on narrative. His work has been published in books and magazines such as The British Journal of Photography, The Telegraph Luxury Magazine, The Times, AD Magazine, House and Garden and GQ Magazine. His projects have been displayed in Museums, Galleries and International Photography Festivals including The Mediterranean Museum in Spain, The Hoxton Gallery and The Manchester Contemporary in the UK, amongst others. You can also find my Silver Gelatin Prints in public and private photography collections. As a photography teacher and mentor, He has shared his knowledge and experience in schools such as Lycée Français Charles De Gaulle and Kings College in London. He has also participated as a panelist at Photography Festivals, most recently at RevelaT in Barcelona.
Semra Diana Halipoğlu
(b. 1987, Bulgaria) is a visual artist specializing in photography. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Akdeniz University, majoring in Photography. Her practice explores themes of identity, mythology, and the hidden structures of consciousness, often constructing handmade scenes that merge tactile materiality with symbolic narratives. Through her work, Halipoğlu invites viewers into a space where innerworlds, ancient myths, and contemporary selfhood intertwine. She currently lives and works in London.
Seren Şarapçıoğlu
is a Brighton-based visual artist whose work navigates the fragile territories between memory, identity, nature, and existence. Working primarily with photography, she transforms her images through subtle manipulations,bending the familiar into the unfamiliar. In her recent portraits, the deliberate erasure of eyes dissolves certainty, inviting viewers to confront the unseen emotional landscapes within each figure. Her practice drifts between documentary and experimental narrative, creating porous spaces where image and memory blur. Through gestures of disappearance and transformation, she explores the shifting thresholds between the human body and the world, it inhabits.
Yiğit Günel
is a London-based multidisciplinary photographer whose work centres around people-based stories, captured through a meticulous approach to lighting and a focus on authenticity. Since founding CULT in 2022, he has expanded his practice to include Cult Creative Meet-ups, a platform for artists and creatives in East London to connect and openly discuss the mental health challenges within the creative industry. Yiğit was selected for the London Creative Network Artist Development Programme in 2021 with Four Corners and continues to exhibit his work both locally and internationally. His notable exhibitions include New Photography (2015) at Alan Istanbul and 34 Women 34 Portraits (2012) at the Antalya Film Festival, among others. His work has been published in Photographing a Rebellion by Ozcan Yurdalan (2014) and Moscow Diary, a self-publication in 2005. He has also lectured and conducted workshops on storytelling through photography, advanced lighting techniques, and portraiture, most recently hosting ongoing monthly Cult Creative Meet-ups in East London.
Opening Night
Saturday, June 7th, 2025, 18:00 -20:00
Exhibition Dates
June 7 - 22, 2025
Location
Versus Arts, 114A Lower Clapton Road, London, E50QR
“Selfhood” invites the audience not only to observe but also to confront themselves and explore the shared connections within their personal experiences.
For press inquiries, collaboration opportunities, or to schedule a private viewing, please contact us at:
Email: info@versusarts.com
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