Exhibition Basibos - Leiden

Başıboş is about “getting lost” in Istanbul. It is a portrait of the city, which goes further than just a touristic view... An illustrated documentary of a fast changing metropolis, with a focus on the contrasts in Turkish society… Dutch illustrator Gijs Kast spent six months working and living in Istanbul, where he got lost in the streets and drew the city. That’s why his book is called Başıboş, a Turkish word connoting wandering aimlessly and getting lost. Kast depicts the rapidly changing city of Istanbul through its different neighborhoods, details of houses, the cats, the character in people's faces, birds and street views. It is important that these drawings are exhibited in Istanbul to bring back the project to the city where it started. Would this be an exotic portrait of Istanbul for the Dutch eye and a cliché for people living in Turkey? Is his (Western) view of Istanbul so much different than a native’s? It will be an interesting experience to see Istanbul through the eyes of a rising young Dutch artist, an outsider yet someone observing from inside.

Exhibition wil be showing at the Honorary Consul-General of Turkey in Leiden.