The Memory of Glass

Rana Öztürk

23 May, 2026

Rana Öztürk, working as a kindergarten teacher in Mersin, is a street photographer who focuses on human stories and urban life. Viewing street photography as a form of bearing witness and a practice of remaining faithful to the moment, the artist embraces a straight photography approach rooted in the documentary tradition.

She is known for her projects "İstanbul Beklemez" (Istanbul Doesn't Wait) which documents the city, "Benden İçeri" (Inside Me) in which she questions isolation through her own body, and "Bahar Yeli" (Spring Breeze) which depicts refugees; photographs from this migrant project were published in the TFSF book, while others appeared in Uzak and Eyesshot publications.

In her latest portfolio-style work "Görsel Manzumeler" (Visual Poems) and its spin-off series "Camın Hafızası" (Memory of Glass), she presents fragmented pieces of time to the viewer. Producing with an amateur spirit for 12 years, Öztürk's photographs have been exhibited in countries such as Italy, Australia, France, Mexico, and Ireland, and most recently at the 2026 Bursafest and 2026 Dublin Fotofest exhibitions.

The Covid pandemic period made visible the thinnest yet sharpest boundary between the human and the world: Glass. In this process, glass became an interface that both protects and separates, reflecting both the inside and the outside at the same time. In those days, as a street photographer trying to understand this new form of the world, I placed myself inside those reflections. My body became a silhouette, and the glass became a memory. The inner self and outer life met on the same surface; I took my place there as a subject who both witnessed and dissolved within that reflection. Over time, this action transformed from being merely a visual essay into an existential practice for me. Every reflection appearing on the surface of the glass was a record of the transition between visibility and absence, the silent expression of a body breathing inside and longing for the outside.

Following the process, this introverted gaze returned back into the street. After the Covid pandemic, this internal dialogue established through

reflections merged with the dynamic movement of the streets. Now in every shop window, in every window pane, the traces of both the personal self and the city were blending into each other. "The Memory of Glass" was shaped precisely at the intersection of these two worlds: inside and outside, body and city, silence and movement. For me, glass is no longer just a surface; it is a space of memory, a locus of witnessing.

Every frame records the traces left by human beings on that thin line between visibility and absence. These photographs carry the quality of a visual journal that questions the permeability of the boundary, where the light of the outside world collides with the emotion within.

Ultimately, each emerging frame approaches with a deep loyalty to the pure truth of photography, the honesty of light, and the inviolability of the moment.