photo poster project | The Day a Dialogue of the Heart Emerged by RÇE | ISSUE #197

The is a photo poster exhibition organized by cizucu and held worldwide, where you can participate simply by choosing a city and date.

What we call the ppp is more than just a photography exhibition. It is a community where anyone can safely share their stories, and an opportunity to connect with creators from around the globe in real life.

This time, we spoke with RÇE, who participated in the .

Nice to meet you. I am RÇE, working as a filmmaker. I am a third-year university student, mainly shooting music videos as a freelancer.

I first took photographs in high school as a way to save myself. Although I had been allowed to use a digital camera since I was young, it was the first time I truly captured my emotions.
Since I couldn’t afford film, I started retouching digital photos to make them look as close to film as possible, and gradually learned how to express the atmosphere I wanted to convey.

It all started when the project appeared in my Instagram recommendations. I was so drawn to the design of the announcement poster that I went to check out the details.  

This was my first time at an exhibition where there was time to talk about the artwork, and I thought that engaging in conversation through my work might become a clue in my own journey of self-discovery.
I wanted to learn how other photography enthusiasts perceive the meaning of taking photographs, so I decided to participate.

I was very nervous at first, but I enjoyed it. It was a stimulating experience to talk about myself to people I had never met before, in a new exhibition format—something I would usually avoid.

There were people who resonated with what I shared, and some who, after seeing my photographs, shared their own stories. I felt that I was able to have a ‘dialogue of the heart’ through my work, which made me very happy.

Last year, I met many people and was able to reflect on emotions through those encounters, but as a reaction to being exposed to so many ideas and people, I lost sight of myself.

“Why am I photographing?” “Why do I hold a camera?”—I lost track of what I wanted to express.

So this year, I decided to face myself.
It felt as if I was sinking deep in the ocean, unable to breathe, unable to see ahead or around me. Only a faint ray of light was visible. That light was something I wanted to see, and I wasn’t even sure if it was truly shining—a light that felt different from an “illusion...?”

In daily life and in interactions with others, there are many hardships—comparing myself to others, falling into self-loathing. But no matter how much I resent it, the world always exists beautifully. Yet, because that ‘beauty’ is not eternal, I find myself wanting to make it last forever.  

I chose this photograph after much deliberation, as it felt like I was looking at myself at that time. I want to keep pursuing the light and continue facing myself.

What I learned this time is that “there doesn’t need to be a meaning to taking photographs.”

You don’t need a reason to press the shutter—“I just like it” is enough.

Of course, it’s recommended for those who feel weighed down, but especially for those who want to enjoy the opportunity to slowly engage with photography, encountering a variety of values and emotions.
I brought the poster home and spent some time looking at it with my family. Even a single photograph, when turned into a poster, has a different atmosphere, and enjoying it in this way was a wonderful experience.