Faces of the TÖPG

Masked portraits of young protesters in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, all members of the TÖPG — a politically active youth group rooted in Turkey’s tradition of grassroots resistance. Emerging from the country’s broader protest culture, the TÖPG stands alongside students, neighbourhood collectives, and activist networks that have long pushed back against authoritarianism and social inequality.

Each portrait isolates a single figure against the chaos of the streets. Faces half-hidden behind scarves and gas masks, yet eyes fully present — defiant, exhausted, alert. The series captures the tension between anonymity and identity: who these young people are forced to become in order to remain who they are.