Alp Peker

Photography
Izmir, Turkey

Artist Development Fund recipient, 2021

See more of Alp's work on Adobe Stock

A selfportrait with colorful post-its arranged in a ladder that goes up to my eyes, it is symbolising that when men being colorful or showing emotion are rejected in a society, it's simply a toxic environment.

A selfportrait where I'm laying with a bunch rainbow & progress pride flags and feeling cosy about it, comfortable with the person I've grown into.

“I've lived and created with my LGBTQ friends and rather conservative family all my life. I love to see both sides of this life collide.”

Meet Alp

Alp Peker (he/they) is a 24-year-old artist and photographer from Izmir, Turkey. He is a medical school graduate from Ege University and a photography graduate from AOF. His work focuses on abstract art portraits, often expressing protest against social norms as an entry point for commentary about human rights, discrimination, and gender inequality.

His commission project for Artist Development Fund is inspired by Turkish culture, along with the juxtaposition of conservatism versus progressive lifestyles. He says, “Turkish culture and daily life is so different from what I see in the media—and of course it’s underrepresented. ... [F]rom the Turkish baths to the transgender community in my city, to the kıraathanes of the elderly, to the Islamic culture of Turkey that collides with the western lifestyle—everything is so different and interesting, and I want to portray it.”

He is currently a Premium collection artist with Adobe Stock, has exhibited twice in Grenoble, France, in 2019. His work has been published by VSCO, in Gucci Beauty, PhotoVogue, Lucie Foundation, Galerie Tracanelli, and others.