Cengiz Tekin Diyarbakır, Türkei, 1977

Cengiz Tekin (b. 1977, Diyarbakır) works across photography, video, sculpture, and painting, exploring political, social, and ecological contradictions through multi-layered narratives. His practice blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction, using illusion, humor, and irony to examine universal themes such as tradition, family, shelter, and asylum.

Beginning his artistic practice in photography, Tekin quickly developed a visual narrative that both anticipated and embodied the political tensions of Diyarbakır. By foregrounding the uncanny and the eerie embedded in everyday life, he seamlessly blurred the boundaries between reality and the surreal. For Tekin, this juxtaposition of the real and the unreal was not an artistic device but a lived condition in Diyarbakır

Tekin's works reveal the hidden crises within the banality of everyday life, questioning the intersection of ecological issues and authoritarian structures. Through a playful yet conflicted narration, he challenges political representations, inviting viewers to confront the complexities of contemporary crises. At the core of his practice is a desire to create an interdisciplinary space for dialogue; one shaped by illusion and tricks, exposing contradictions and tensions rather than seeking harmony. His art extends beyond visual experience, prompting reflection on memory, social conflicts, and the individual’s place within these structures.

His most recent solo and group exhibitions include 2nd Türkiye Textile Biennial (Antalya, Turkey, 2025), Waves Don’t Draw Maps (Zilberman İstanbul, Turkey, 2024), Fellow Travellers, (ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, Almanya, 2024), States of Earth (Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat, İstanbul, Turkey, 2024), 1st Commagene Biennial (Adıyaman, Turkey, 2023), Locus Solus (Arter, Istanbul, 2022); 6th Ural Biennial, Thinking Hands Touching Each Other (Yekaterinburg, 2020); Up in Arms (Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin, 2019); A Pillar of Smoke at Turkey’s Contemporary Scene (Arles Photography Festival, Arles, 2018), How Will The Weather Be Tomorrow? Between Bridges (Berlin, 2017); Just Before Paradise (PİLOT Galeri, Istanbul, 2016); Istanbul: Passion, Joy, Fury (MAXXI, Rome, 2015); Beautiful Game (Ljubljana City Art Gallery, Ljubljana, 2012); and Free Kick (9th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2005), among others. Cengiz Tekin, who lives and works in Diyarbakır, is the co-founding manager of the Loading Art Space, which has been operating since 2017.