Frédéric Nauczyciel

Untitled (Boîte à prière, Istanbul, Novembre 2005)

This early photographic work by Fre?de?ric Nauczyciel, titled Untitled (Boîte à prière, Istanbul, Novembre 2005), features a young man in religious attire reading a religious text from inside a glass prayer box. Seemingly truncated by the shadows cast upon his seated position, the man is dramatically illuminated by a white neon light above. The harsh synthetic light reflects off of the man’s white robe and the glass box to create a haunting, artificial glow. While the religious man is absorbed in his work, a curious tourist takes a glance at the book from which he reads. Nauczyciel notes that he was particularly drawn to the extreme lighting featured in this image. A commodity which came from the West in the 1970s, fluorescent lighting was adopted by hot and humid countries in the developing world for their coldness and economy. Thus, this image portrays Islamic ritual through a western lens, further complicated by the context of Turkey as an otherwise secular country, as evidenced by the tourist observing the man’s recital.