18 April 2012

Turkish delight

I just returned from a trip to Istanbul. It was not a research expedition, but the care and precision of products displayed in markets and shops was noteworthy. In most fruit stands, for example, apples all sat with their stems upwards and in the Spice Bazaar treats were piled in perfect pyramids.


Upon my return, I noticed how much the image below, taken in Beyoğlu, resembles one I took last summer in London.


This was taken on Deptford High Street last July:


The images, things, and organisation are extraordinarily similar. This speaks, perhaps, to the transnational flow of certain types of (injection-mould, plastic) objects and to how curatorial logics are shared across borders.

There were other familiar landmarks as well. In Turkey, this one goes by the name "Algida"!