Prof. Dr. Melih Arıcan's "In the Poppy Fields" Exhibition in Latvia

The photography exhibition "In the Poppy Fields" by Prof. Dr. Melih Zafer Arıcan, Head of the Department of Photography and Video at Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication, opens at RigaZazi Gallery, Latvia's only photography gallery.

The project, which seeks to draw attention to the hard lives of the people of Anatolia, especially women, tells its story through poppy farming, an important part of Anatolian culture. Open from 11 October to 9 November 2012, the exhibition opens on 11 October with the participation of Şerife Serap Özcoşkun, Turkish Ambassador to Latvia.

As part of this project, Prof. Dr. Melih Arıcan photographed poppy production in the districts of Afyon, particularly Bolvadin, over a ten-year period between 2001 and 2011. He approached poppy production as an event that reflects the social structure of the people of Anatolia and expressed all of this through his aesthetic photographs. Having started this project in 2001 focusing solely on poppies together with his photographer friend Merter Oral, Arıcan later redirected the project to tell the story of Anatolian women's struggle for existence in a male-dominated world, considering the harsh working conditions of Anatolian women he witnessed during the shoots. He thus realized the most comprehensive photography project ever made on the poppy, which has been grown in Anatolia for about four thousand years since the Hittite civilization and is part of our culture. In January 2012, the project was also published as a book in the United States by Fotovision under the title "Opium Women".

Those who wish to explore this story in detail can obtain the book "Opium Women," published by Fotovision in the USA in January 2012, from online shopping sites and selected bookstores in Türkiye as well.

Prof. Dr. Melih Zafer Arıcan, Head of the Department of Photography and Video, BAU Faculty of Communication