How can you ban my existence
2025, Istanbul
After large sections of the population across the country protested peacefully against their own government in March 2025, the Turkish state responded with violent repression, censorship, and the arrest of more than 1,400 demonstrators. In the weeks that followed, many young people definitively lost hope in political change towards an open, democratic society that recognises their identity and respects their needs.
Valentin Sohn’s photographic project “How can you ban my existence” documents a young, disillusioned generation of artists in Istanbul who no longer feel represented by an increasingly conservative and authoritarian government.
The title is drawn from a quote by the portrayed artist Ibo, speaking about the increasing criminalisation of queer people.
In the spring of 2025, Valentin Sohn photographed and interviewed musicians, photographers, dancers, songwriters and theatre directors who talk about arrested friends, an uncertain future, life abroad, art as a form of resistance, and the shared dream of “Hak, hukuk, adalet!” – law, justice, and fairness.
How can you ban my existence (07/2025), handbound hardcover monograph, 96 Pages