Protests in Paris, May 1968

Göksin Sipahioglu /SIPA Press

Turkey

 

For Turkish photographer Göksin Sipahioglu, May ’68 was a decisive event to cover, like a sessional exam to get recognition. All the best photographers in the world were there that month, roaring between the boulevard Saint-Michel, Bastille and the Champs-Elysées. The competition was tough but Göksin won his spurs. His pictures made a lot of front-pages and appeared in many double spread. Always on the lookout, he had a stubborn patience. He knew exactly where and when to wait for the scene that will be relevant. This work called “Spring of Enraged” has allowed him to really revealed his talent in France, probably because he was also driven by the same anger.

Biography

Göksin Sipahioglu was born in Izmir, Turkey, in 1926. After attending the French Lycée St Joseph in Istanbul he helped found the Kadiköy Sports Club, now best known for the Efes Pilsen basketball team. He later studied journalism at Istanbul University. After making a name for himself in Turkey as a photographer, he received international recognition for his 1956 photos of wounded Egyptian soldiers after Israel invaded the Sinai Peninsula during the Suez crisis.
He sold Sipa in 2001 to France’s Sud Communication group, owned by the industrialist Pierre Fabre, although he stayed on as chairman until he retired in 2003. In January 2007, then French president Jacques Chirac appointed him Knight of the Legion of Honour.