Ishak Pasa Sarayi, Agri, from the series Fault Lines/Turkey/East/West

George Georgiou was born in London in 1961 to Greek Cypriot parents. He studied photography, film and video at the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster) in 1987; since then he has worked as a freelance photographer, photographing extensively in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Focusing on scenes of everyday life, the 'Fault Lines/Turkey/East/West' series documents social and cultural change in Turkey as the country rapidly urbanises. While researching and photographing the series, Georgiou lived in Istanbul for four-and-a-half years, immersing himself in local life. The series was the start of his move to colour photography. He has remarked that his earlier projects, 'Hidden: Psychiatric Hospitals Serbia and Kosovo' amongst them, were tense and emotionally charged and therefore suited to black-and-white photography. For the 'Fault line' series, he felt he needed a new language and moved to colour.

Ishak Pasa Sarayi (Ishak Pasha Palace) is a semi-ruined Ottoman-period palace located on a hillside on the outskirts of the city of Doğubeyazıt in Ağrı province, eastern Turkey. Construction on the palace commenced in 1685 and took a century to complete. It is now a popular tourist attraction. Georgiou has taken this moody photograph from what appears to be an enterprising local’s café sited above the carpark, and where, quite possibly, he sat drinking tea moments earlier. The expanding city of Doğubeyazıt can be seen in the distance.