Nasan Tur, ‘Passport’ (2000)

Applying for a German passport, Nasan Tur let his mustache grow over several months, fitting the cliche of the Turk in Germany.

This small alteration in his appearance led to a complete change in perception of and reaction to him from the outside world in his daily life. In the circles in which he normally moved he was suddenly no longer welcome, and from a female point of view unsexy, whereas he was greeted with “Salem Aleykum” when walking past Turkish cafés and reaped enthusiastic compliments from aunts and uncles.