Arif Aşçı

Arif Aşçı was born in Adana in 1958. He graduated from the Department of Art in the Istanbul Fine Art Academy in 1982. Between 1984 and 1986 he worked as an instructor at the engraving studio of the Istanbul Fine Art Academy. In 1986 he resigned from Academy and started travelling to Asian countries and taking photography. In 1989 Aşçı prepared the 12 episode TV documentary film, entitled “Turquoise” which was based on his three years journey in Asian countries. In 1996 he prepared and directed an exhibition on Silk Road, which showed his trip across the ancient Silk Road from China to Turkey with his team (4 people) by camel caravan for 18 months. In 1998 the book of Silk Road journey, “The Last Caravan on the Silk Road”, was published by the Kaleseramic Cultural Publications. The documentary of his journey was shown on TV in over 20 countries. In 1999, he presented “Silk Road” photographs during the Photo Journalism Festival in Perpignan, France. In 2000, his book, “Bahtabakan (Chameleon)”, which shows a portfolio in black and white was published by the Kaleseramic Cultural Publications. In 2003, Aşçı presented “Silk Road” photographs during Turkish Octoberfest in Munich, Germany. He presented a documentation in the 22nd International Architects Congress in 2005. The Album “Many Colors, One City” was published by the Kaleseramic Cultural Publications. Aşçi was a representative of Amsterdam Photo Agency during 1997 and 2007. Cover stories and photo stories were published worldwide in such magazines: Geo, Grands Reportages, Holland Herald, Res, Terra, VSD and Expressen. During 2003 and 2007, Aşçı took photographs of Istanbul with a 6x17 panoramic camera. Some of his photographs of this long term project were exhibited in the Museum of Istanbul Modern, Brussels and Seoul.