The wind blows over the grey lands between the villages of eastern Turkey, spreading both sand and stories throughout. Time and time again, the tale of the boy is told – his name changes with each rendition – blinded by his love for the woman with the black pearly eyes and hair black as soot and his journey to try and find her.

He's doomed to travel the endless barren planes as a blind man. In some versions of the story they’re reunited but their fiery love is set ablaze and their burning passion leads to their demise. The Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman has collected these stories of old and translated them into images, into black and white photos.

Recent times have ushered in new stories. Between around 1960 and 1980, there was no television or radio in the villages of eastern Turkey. Via visitors stopping in for a cup of tea they heard of the American and Russian plans to travel to the moon.

The younger inhabitants of the villages who believed in the technical possibilities of the new era were fascinated by this unheard of notion. To the moon... that sounded like a great adventure. Wanting to head to the moon themselves, they used the mosque tower – that way they’d be sure of God’s assistance – and built it into a rocket. They left on this mosque rocket but never returned from their journey. According to some villagers, this means they truly made it to the moon, but the last word on the matter still hasn’t been spoken.