Besim Can ZIRH
Hackney Boys
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Hackney
Hackney Boys
An image by Besim Can ZIRH
UCL Social Anthropology
Hackney - London, 2008
(Third Place, 2009 COMPAS Photo Competition)
The hand gesture, Hackney, denotes the localization of teenagers with immigrant backgrounds as linkages are developed between their self-identification and place of residence. However, this localization does not necessarily refer to “naturalization” or “integration” since identification to Hackney cannot be extended to wider British society.
The sword represents the persistence of the homeland identity inherited from immigrant parents. This also does not mean these young people’s attachments are to the general category of the Turkish nation, but to a more specific identity: Alevism. Consequently, Hackney and a provincial town in Anatolia are decontextualized from their ‘national characters’ and become trans-localities poised on the foundation of the icon of a global trade mark.
On the other hand, the remarkably scant media coverage about the suicides in Hackney, by both Turkish and British national news services, whispers that this process trans-localization does not guarantee the visibility on such burning issues for immigrant communities in their two homes, even when it emerges in the heart of a global city.
Hackney Boys
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Borough_of_Hackney
Hackney Boys
An image by Besim Can ZIRH
UCL Social Anthropology
Hackney - London, 2008
(Third Place, 2009 COMPAS Photo Competition)
The hand gesture, Hackney, denotes the localization of teenagers with immigrant backgrounds as linkages are developed between their self-identification and place of residence. However, this localization does not necessarily refer to “naturalization” or “integration” since identification to Hackney cannot be extended to wider British society.
The sword represents the persistence of the homeland identity inherited from immigrant parents. This also does not mean these young people’s attachments are to the general category of the Turkish nation, but to a more specific identity: Alevism. Consequently, Hackney and a provincial town in Anatolia are decontextualized from their ‘national characters’ and become trans-localities poised on the foundation of the icon of a global trade mark.
On the other hand, the remarkably scant media coverage about the suicides in Hackney, by both Turkish and British national news services, whispers that this process trans-localization does not guarantee the visibility on such burning issues for immigrant communities in their two homes, even when it emerges in the heart of a global city.