A woman sits on a wooden stool in front of a colorful, patterned textile backdrop. She is wearing a wide-brimmed gray hat, a brown long-sleeve top, a brown skirt, and green cowboy boots with embroidered floral designs. She has long, dark, wavy hair and wears earrings.
A black-and-white portrait of a woman with long, wavy hair, piercing eyes, and full lips, looking directly at the camera.

I make moving images about presence—how bodies remember, how ritual holds grief and hope, and how land shapes us back.

I grew up between Istanbul and the mountains of ancient Mesopotamia, and I’ve lived nomadically for long stretches; that mix of city and steppe taught me to listen for rhythm. My practice sits between documentary and visual art—part observation, part composition. I travel light, often alone or with a tiny crew, spending time before I press record. The work is slow and collaborative: I let gesture, breath, and weather lead.

My photographs and films speak to each other; sometimes a single image is enough, sometimes a film is needed to breathe. I’m drawn to communities who keep tradition alive while inventing new forms, and to the ordinary tenderness that carries them through each day. Across both mediums I aim for clarity and care—images that feel lived-in and true.

Cambridge University logo with film project details and award information

Awards & Recognitions

Graphic design with black background and white text, featuring names and entities such as 'A Zarastro', 'Mixer', '212 Photography Istanbul', and 'Scalehouse'. An age restriction icon indicates '30 under 30'.
A series of black and white laurels and awards for various international film festivals including Montreal, Los Angeles, Berlin, and San Diego, and logos for Bendfilm and FIFF.

2025 — Mountainfilm Emerging Filmmaker Fellow · SCIxART Project Artist, University of Cambridge (2025–26) · Co-directed Peaks of Belonging — 5Point × STIO Film Grant · Directed & produced Shaereh · Developing a new episodic project in Türkiye and Greece.

2024 — Directed & produced Enigmatic Cowboy published & exhibited by Fujifilm US

2023 — Solo exhibition: Nature’s Luminescence within the Human Spirit, Scalehouse Gallery (Oregon).

2022 — Bridging the Gap — official selections & awards including BendFilm, San Diego Art Film Fest (Winner), Los Angeles Independent Women Film Awards, Berlin International Art Film Festival, Festival Internacional de Imagem de Natureza (Nat Geo Portugal), Klamath Film Festival · Fundraising screening with Puffin Drinkwear for Think Wild (300+ attendees) · Finalist, Oregon Wild Photo Competition (Forgotten Places, Land That Speaks) · Luise series in 212 Istanbul Photography Exhibition (Mixer Gallery).

2020 — ARTPIL Tokyo — 30 Under 30 Women Photographers.

2019 — Blue Green Earth Foundation — Nature Photography Award.

2017 — One-year solo exhibition, Istanbul Museum of Photography (series: Thunder Birds, Syrian Benjamin Button, Eternity of Nature and Soul).

2016 — First solo film & photo exhibition Eternity of Nature and Soul, hosted by the Austrian Consulate · Photo “Wolf” selected for Travel + Leisure: 100 Stunning Photos of the World.

2015 — Sony World Photography Awards — Commended Photographer.

Logos of Sony World Photography Awards, FUJIFILM X GFX, Travel + Leisure, and Photo Vogue on a black background.
A man and woman looking at a laptop on a kitchen counter, appearing concerned.
A woman in a pink sports top and black shorts kneels on a dusty, desert trail, smiling and holding a microphone in her right hand. A professional camera with a microphone is placed on the ground in front of her, and she is surrounded by sparse desert
A person lying on an outdoor carpet with a white goat, both resting their heads together. The person is holding a camera and wearing a gray jacket with the Red Bull TV logo.
Photographer with a professional video camera on a tripod standing on rocky terrain.