to understand the place I’m in

I’m often drawn to things that usually go unnoticed or are seen as ugly: old cars, carts, boxes, wires, building structures, crushed cans, temporary signs and random city objects. I’m interested in their form, how they exist in space and the character they give a place

What catches me most is everything imperfect, unfinished and temporary – the things you usually want to fix, hide or simply not notice. Later I learned about wabi-sabi and realised this view of beauty is close to mine: it can live in imperfection, impermanence and traces of time. Maybe that’s why I’m less interested in drawing “ideal” objects than things that look random, worn, temporary or slightly out of place

When I end up in a new city, these observations are how I slowly start to understand it. Drawing is my way to slow down, look closer at my surroundings and notice what I’d otherwise walk past. Through such things I gradually read the character of the place I’m in

“Istanbul jacket” began in the winter of 2023, when I moved to Istanbul. I was looking for a new home and at the same time trying to make sense of the city – its visual noise, improvisation, unfinishedness and unpredictability

I liked that so much here looks temporary, as if put together on the go. What can be irritating or chaotic at first gradually becomes part of the city’s character

So my drawings are less about specific objects and more a way to capture the process of getting to know a place. Through them, I try to find beauty where people don’t usually look for it