The 80 anonymous gazes featured in artist and academic Selim Süme’s Tekerrür project gain visibility once again through the publication of the book Vesika.

This publication constructs Süme’s conceptual inquiry into gaze, power, history, and memory through a collection of passport photographs found in an envelope.

Formally based on the dimensions of ID photos, the book transforms the visual markers found on the front and back of these portraits — such as faces, signatures, and stamps — into a cohesive graphic language. With its black, three-sided hardcover design, Vesika evokes the “çetene defteri” — a traditional record book known in Anatolian dialects — and, through its information structure and layout, becomes an object that instills a sense of authority and credibility in the viewer.

At Informal Project, we developed the book’s visual system to support its multi-layered content. As the anonymous faces emerge one by one from the envelope, they transform back into official ID photos — establishing an intuitive and critical visual language that reflects on both personal and collective memory.