Luna Sweetheart: Nur Guzeldere
WOMANHOOD IS A JOURNEY THAT COMES WITH IT’S UPS AND DOWNS— yet it’s a journey that can be described as a beautiful one by many. We laugh, we cry, we build and we break but we always rise again. All of our Journeys and definitions of femininity and womanhood can be different from woman to woman but we all strive towards the same goal and it is to uplift each other through the stories we share, create paths for each other, and meet each other at the end goals. Sometimes words can only describe this journey so much and seeing the beauty unfold in photography shows you a whole new perspective.
After becoming inspired by the book “The Woman Destroyed” by Simone de Beauvoir “Women On The Verge” by Nur Guzeldere revolves around topics such as girlhood, loneliness, femininity, and intimacy which Guzeldere depicts beautifully through the art of film.
Nur Guzeldere is a 20-year-old NYC-based Turkish photographer, director and cinematographer. With an emphasis on emotional and intimate portraiture, her photography work ranges from documentarian to editorial.
Read more down below on Nur’s recent project and her career.
LUNA: Hi Nur! How’s it going? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
GUZELDERE: Hello, I’m doing well, thank you for the feature again! I’m a 20-year-old lens-based artist. Sometimes I do film, sometimes I do photography, and sometimes I write but no one gets to see that.
LUNA: What is the earliest memory you have of photography?
GUZELDERE: My earliest memory, not that I remember it crystal clear or anything, has to be taking mediocre photos of flowers that I loved looking at with my iPhone 5. I think my observant nature was simply intrigued by anything pretty looking around me. Soon after, I realized that flowers get repetitive quickly and I moved towards shooting portraits. My friends would pose for photos, and I don’t know if they actually enjoyed it or not, but I owe so much to them for giving me a space to play around and teach myself the basic technical skills.
LUNA: Your most recent photo series “Women On The Verge” revolves around topics of girlhood, loneliness, femininity, and intimacy. What was the driving force behind starting this series?
GUZELDERE: I was at the Strand bookstore last year and the striking pink and green cover of Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Woman Destroyed” looked cool so I bought it. The book consists of three short stories, and I found all of them very moving. It all spoke to me beautifully, and honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I had to do something about it. Reading that book brought something from my subconscious that was waiting to be out in my work. All of these emotions triggered something inside me, and I started documenting it through half realistic, half stylized imagery as a mix of scenarios from the book and scenarios from my life.
LUNA: You are based in Brooklyn and you are of Turkish heritage. Do you feel like your environment and heritage influence your work?
GUZELDERE: Of course it does! My identity is strongly tied to my work. However, I actually haven’t made a body of work that is specifically about being Turkish. It’s in the works, but I’m still figuring that out as well.
LUNA: What is some advice you would give to a photographer who is struggling to create?
GUZELDERE: Take a break if you need to. Don’t always try to find inspiration in other photographers. Check out a museum. Look at art that you necessarily don’t want to make. Look at some still-life paintings from the 16 century, they’re quite fantastic.
LUNA: What is your favorite thing about shooting in film?
GUZELDERE: I love how sunlight looks so warm and soft on any skin when I shoot on medium format film.
LUNA: Who/what inspires your work?
GUZELDERE: So many people and so many things inspire me, listening to some Vashti Bunyan music comes to my mind because it's so recent. For filmmakers, I feel inspired whenever I watch an Agnes Varda or a Jim Jarmusch movie. Besides, famous people, my friends, and my roommates around me are always chit-chatting about art and that feeds my creativity.
LUNA: You are also a cinematographer and a director, do you feel like that helps you in a photographer's aspect?
GUZELDERE: They all go hand in hand, I learn different things from both and end up applying lessons to whatever I’m working on at the moment. Working on short films definitely gave me a stronger sense of creating a narrative structure, which comes in very useful for photo series.
LUNA: What hobbies do you enjoy outside of your career, if any?
GUZELDERE: I love ballet a lot, I grew up with it so it has a special place in my heart. I recently learned how to play pool so that’s been pretty fun. For more occasional ones, I like going on night walks alone.
LUNA: Question for Fun: you can create your own type of film, What would you make/what would the results be? Even if it’s not possible from a scientific point of view, you can be as creative as you want!
GUZELDERE: Oh this is a fun one. I’d like to see one where everything is a shade of a crazy bubblegum pink. Or I’d like to see one where the oranges and blues are very prominent and sharp.
