Political contentions influence visual sphere, as much as the visuals help mobilize public affects. 2013’s Gezi Movement was home to several creative examples of visual activism that were instrumental for challenging the existing understandings of dissent in Turkey. Much of this activism also found its way online through social media platforms, blogs, and archives. On the other hand, since a military coup attempt have hit the country in 2016, a certain anger and commitment to vindication seem to have been expanding and taking over the visual production and dissemination online. This talk invites to take a look at the political imageries of two mobilizations and contentions across them.
M. Ragıp Zık is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin, working on contemporary visual practices in political struggle. His project draws upon concepts of collective identity, iconography, and affect. Ragıp has previously researched on artistic practices, collective memory, and resistance cultures. Before joining to academia, he run several years of community-building projects in the Euro-Mediterranean area and Caucasus. He is currently a board member of International Sociological Association’s Visual Sociology Research Committee.
