Yağız Özgen: Boyacı/Painter

Editor: Ulya Soley
Writers: An Paenhuysen, Elvin Eroğlu, Oğuz Karayemiş
Photographers: Zeynep Fırat, Emirkan Cörüt
Printing: MAS Matbaa
Publisher: SANATORIUM
2025

We designed the book as an exact reflection—both physically and conceptually—of the exhibition, or in Yağız’s words, “It is a process of mapping the exhibition onto the book’s surface”. Through Zeynep Fırat’s detailed photographs, the book allows us to experience the exhibition as if walking through it, concluding with Emirkan Cörüt’s photographs that document the deconstruction process of the exhibition.

In the exhibition, the walls are symmetrically divided into "painted" and "unpainted" sections. The blank walls are represented in the book by an equal number of empty left and right pages. Considering that these empty walls are actually “walls covered with white paint,” we integrated the empty pages into the printing process and had them completely painted white. As if that weren’t enough, the spine, top, side, and bottom edges of the book were also covered with white paint. The texts are positioned to symbolically represent a left-to-right painting motion, while the table of contents transforms into a bird’s-eye preview of the book, incorporating all the physical elements that make a book a "book"—from its plastic drop cloth to the back cover.

The typographic approach on the cover, which also represents the exhibition’s visual identity, was printed on gray cardboard with three layers of white inkjet spray to create the sensation of “touching a layer of paint on a wall surface.” This allowed the painted text to be felt through touch.

Additionally, a poster is included inside the book, showing an application of the exhibition's identity poster pasted on city billboards, further connecting the exhibition with the book.

Book photos: Zeynep Fırat