Documentary Photography and Experience of Terrorism: The Case of Ergun Cagatay

Abstract

^{This study explores the transformative impact of terrorist attacks on individual identity and the ways in which this transformations is reflected in professional output, focusing on the case of Turkish photojournalist Ergun Cagatay, who survived the 1983 Orly Airport attack in Paris. The main objective of the study is to explore the relationship between the personal experience that follows an ethno-nationalist terrorist attack and the subsequent search for cultural belonging, as manifested in the thematic shifts of photopgrapher's professional practice. Structured with a qualitative research desing, the study employs a descriptive analysis framework grounded in Social Identity Theory. The research data were collected through document analysis, which includes an examination of the photographer's visiual works, his post- attack writings, interwiews and press reports. The findings indicate that, following the attack, themes related to Turkish cultural indentity and a heightened emphasis on belonging became markedly more prominent in the photographer's work. The study further suggests that cultural production can serve as a form of symbolic resistence, enabling the construction of resilience in response to terrorism.}