The Rebecca Ibel Gallery is excited to debut the photographs of Mark Slankard in an exhibition titled ‘Outskirts: Antiquated meets Modernity in Contemporary Turkey’. The exhibition opens February 1 and running through March 26, with an artist’s reception on Friday, February 19, 5-8 pm.

The exhibition focuses on images taken in Turkey over the past few years that show the clashes in time and culture, where the old ways meet the 21st Century. Istanbul is the meeting of the East and West, and Turkey is a place where you will find ancient ruins and modern high rises. Slankard has spent time documenting the borders of the ‘old world’ and its people and traditions next to the rising middle class and expanding suburbs. Following his long-standing interest in the cultural landscape of residential areas, we find people and their homes, from shanties to high rises, with sheep grazing next to new towers, and cows wandering about downtown. In some photographs, it is hard to distinguish between what is an old ruin and what is new construction in progress.

These photographs also reflect the intersection of different peoples, from migrants in shantytowns, farmers and shepherds, to bankers and Ikea employees. The changing landscapes reflect the greater changes globally and the political situations universal to living and working in the 21st Century.

Originally from Indiana, Slankard received a BA in psychology at Indiana University in 1996 and a MFA at Ohio University in 2002. His photographs and videos have been exhibited and screened widely, including at: the Rotterdam International Film Festival; the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; the Dairy Barn; and the Wexner Center for the Arts. He is a 2002 National Graduate Seminar Fellow of The Photography Institute at Columbia University. Slankard currently lives and works in Cleveland Ohio. This is his first exhibition with the Rebecca Ibel Gallery.

For further information visit us at rebeccaibel.com or call 614-291-2555. The Rebecca Ibel Gallery features fine contemporary art and maintains two gallery locations in Columbus. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 am – 5 pm and by appointment.