Fikret follows the life of Fikret Gül, a woman who has spent most of her life in agriculture and animal husbandry in a wooden house in Meşrutiyet Village, where time seems to move slowly. Married at the age of fourteen and brought from Ahmetli Village to Meşrutiyet, Fikret built a life shaped by labor, care, loss, and endurance.
I met Fikret by chance while photographing the old wooden houses of Şile. What began with her calling me into her garden gradually turned into one of the most intimate encounters of my life. Over time, she began to call me “my daughter,” and the distance between photographer and subject slowly transformed into a bond of trust.
The book documents Fikret’s daily routines, her solitude, and her attachment to life through photographs, archival images, found documents, and objects from the Gül family archive.
The design of this photobook was inspired by an album created by Fikret Hanım’s husband, Recep Gül, before his passing.