Tekirdag, Turkey
I knew September would race away and I wasn’t wrong. Where did this month go? At the same time, how did I do so much in this crazy fast month? I’m glad I took a small vacation at the beginning of September, because it let me start off the madness centered and calm.
Kabak, Turkey
Best Of The Month
I took my vacation to a place I’ve gone many times: Kabak. I thought I might travel to a different Turkish beach with a friend, but when she had to drop out, I decided it would be easiest to return to a place that was familiar to me. I’m glad I did—I didn’t have to think deeply about the logistics, and I could just enjoy swimming and reading at the sea.
Buyukada, Istanbul, Turkey
The Istanbul Biennial opened this month, and I was lucky enough to be invited (for the second time!) to the opening reception at the Palais de France. It’s truly the best party I’ve ever gone to in this city, with endless glasses of French champagne in a gorgeous garden. I had a great time.
Tekirdag, Turkey
Some friends and I went wine tasting in Tekirdag, almost exactly a year after we did it last year, which means it’s clearly a tradition at this point. It’s lovely to leave the city, sip a few glasses of wine, and frolic in the vineyards—highly recommended as a late-summer day trip.
And, I had an my first solo exhibition! It’s a project I’ve been working on for nearly a year. I’ll talk about it a little bit farther down in this post.
Tekirdag, Turkey
Worst Of The Month
The problem with such a jam-packed month is that, inevitably, the body will crash. It happened to me the week after the Biennial previews, where I was spending full days touring the art and late evenings celebrating. We went wine tasting soon after and the next day I just completely melted, and spent a few days resting and resetting my exhausted body. Lesson learned: balance is key.
Preparing for an exhibition is stressful! I wasn’t expecting it to be SUCH a trial. But, it was worth it in the end!
Kabak, Turkey
What I’m Loving
Reads: The best thing I read this month might be the best thing I’ve read all year: The City & The City by China Mieville. I don’t want to tell too much about it and spoil the fun, but its central plot involves a mysterious murder and two cities with an unusual connection: they are different cities in different countries that occupy the same physical space. It’s an incredible novel.
Music: The song Soy Yo by Bomba Estereo has been a perfect end-of-summer jam, though it’s probably a good all-the-time jam. I’ve also been into the songs Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You by Julia Jacklin and September Blues by Quantic.
Istanbul, Turkey
Film/TV: Again I didn’t really watch any movies or TV series this month, but I did watch John Oliver’s segment on legal immigration, which is recommended viewing. The US immigration system is cruel and broken, and this segment really breaks it down.
Podcasts: I listen to a lot of podcasts, but an episode from an old series that I don’t listen to consistently is the one that really blew me away. The episode “The Recruiter” from Welcome to LA is absolutely WILD, delving into one man who went from a Christian rock musician to the voice of Ronald McDonald to the preeminent maker of gay porn. Yes, you read that correctly. The episode is mostly his monologue, but the story is almost too crazy to be believed. That’s LA! The whole series is really terrific, but I think this episode has been my favorite so far—I was entertained and surprised the whole way through.
I’ve started listening to all the back episodes of a series called Stories from the Eastern West, which focuses on short stories based around the former Eastern Bloc countries (with a particular emphasis on Poland). The stories are succinct, riveting, and illuminative; it’s been a pleasure going through the archive.
Kabak, Turkey
The Film Files
I had an exhibition! My first solo exhibition! I pitched this double exposure portrait project to the space Nadas Istanbul when they opened last year, and I shot all the portraits there over two days in October and November. It took almost a year, but I finally finished shooting the whole thing and it’s on display at Nadas Istanbul until October 13. If you are in Istanbul, come see it before it closes! All the pieces are for sale, too. (I’ve already sold a few.)
Istanbul, Turkey
Ephemera
Now that the weather is cooling off, I started running again. It was an uneven beginning, but I finally have gotten back into a groove, and it feels great.
Istanbul, Turkey
Upcoming
I will be in Istanbul through the run of my exhibition, and I would like to go somewhere afterwards. Hopefully somewhere in the Balkans, but who knows! Nothing is planned, and anything could happen.
No Comments