Istanbul’s whirling dervishes
In our second look at Kris Van Assche’s personal photography, we present his series ‘Istanbul’ – focused on the Turkish practice of the whirling dervishes, Islamic men engaged in their mystical ceremony of spinning, dancing prayer. On Kris’ travels through Istanbul he captured the splendor of their graceful religious dance, as the men twirl in a trance-like state – their traditional skirts ballooning out into white parachutes. According to Islamic Sufi texts, the white skirt is a symbol of the ego’s shroud, and while whirling, the dervish points his right hand to the sky to accept God’s wishes.
Kris shows the frantic yet fluid movement in his soft, tonal images, focusing low to the ground allowing the images to become an abstract representation of his subjects.
Kris on his own photography:
“It is a tool, something that helps me to do my job as a fashion designer. I enjoy it because, as for fashion, it is all about proportion. It is also a way of capturing moments of reality, my main source for inspiration, and embellish them.”
