Confronting the complexity of Turkish identity at the crossroads of the Eurasian continent, Ceylan’s work focuses on intimate psychological portraits in stunning detail, capturing the subtle richness of geographical locations and local customs along with postmodern existential themes. Ceylan’s films in which long takes and unusual viewpoints are used, betray the desire of the stillness and the shadow to play the key role. The commitment in his photographs to a profound imagination can be seen as the clue of his films. The photographs which are identical to film frames and standing by themselves appear as pure compositions transforming the elegy into elegance. I In The World of My Father Ceylan turns his formidable gaze to his father Mehmet Emin Ceylan, a charismatic subject who played prominent roles in his first three films Clouds of May (1999), The Small Town (1997) Cocoon (1995). Framing universal themes of love and loss, the rich portraits of his father capture his stoic countenance with profound emotion, depicting him as elderly and undeniably vulnerable. Expertly manipulating light as well as choosing complex domestic interiors, the images have been likened to painters like Turner and Breughel the Elder because of their deeply humanistic portrayals and prosaic feel. His touching works and straightforward representations are like the fragments of a never-ending film and thereby reveal Ceylan’s realism by blurring the line between art and life.
