Latif, 2020

Latif delves into the mindset and emotions of someone locked inside his own thoughts, hiding, unable to see himself truly during a pandemic.

​

Ömer Tevfik Erten had spent the first four months of Covid 19 in the forty square meter house of a man he had just met in a city (Ankara) he is not familiar with due to health concerns. Erten had worked on a photo series that formed the structure of the project during the curfew imposed due to pandemic, and then started writing the story of Latif. The photo series highlights both his loneliness, and that of a relative stranger.

​

Dutch and Turkish Writer Defne Çizakça wrote a feminist fairy tale inspired by the pandemic, femicides, and the photograph of a vague woman Erten took. The tale, centered on a woman who is between the lines and outside the system, draws attention to the increasing cases of domestic violence during the Covid 19 lockdowns.

​

The first end result of Latif Project is an e-book that contains Ömer Tevfik Erten's photos and story, alongside Defne Çizakça's magical narrative. The project is supported by a generous grant from the Netherlands Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey.