Busra Aydogan's explores the trans community in Turkey

"My name is Busra Aydogan, I studied fine arts and I am a film photographer based in Istanbul. I am into film photography since 4 years. I mostly work with expired films and I love taking portraits of people from my queer community. Turkey has the highest transgender murder rate in Europe. The violence transgender people face often goes unpunished as the police are reluctant to investigate these cases and to help them. The society does not consider transgender people either female or male. Out of The Mirror series shows us how a trans person gets rid of society’s mirror."

See more of Busra's work on instagram at @busra.aydogann

A/A: When did you start shooting film?

BA: I was living in Italy at 2015 and one day I went to a second hand market in Bologna. I had no idea about how to use analog cameras. And I saw a fujica ST605N and I had no idea if its is working or not. I just bought it and started to shoot. Since 2015 I am using the same camera and it became my best friend.

A/A: What got you interested in the subject of the transgender community?

BA: I am living in Turkey and Turkey has the most transgender murder population in the world. If you are a transgender especially transwoman, you have no right to work in any public jobs, the government doesn't do insurance and they do not have other rights like all women and men have. Their only chance to survive is to working as a sex workers. And in the end most of them end their own life or their life taken by a stanger on the street.

A/A: How were these images created?

BA: I was shooting my model at my garden and wanted to try double exposure technique. And suddenly out of the mirror series appeared. I love how you can show two stories in one film.

A/A: What inspires you?

BA: People and their face impressions are really inspire me.  I love to communicate not only with words but also with eyes.