Live for 5 Turkish lira Painting

My work is inspired by the urban living and nature in Istanbul; its beauty and its cruelty, its hostility and its hospitality, its paradoxes and its contrasts. After spending more than two years in Istanbul I started this series of artwork which are reflecting our society in our urban surroundings. It epitomizes our cultural ideas and social norms. Through this series, I strive to invoke reflection on culture of mass-consumption, where the negative aspects of overindulgence are often forgotten or ignored. The work questions a culture that equates fulfillment, pleasure and happiness with what we consume, and many of our cultural ideals and social norms. These are the pictures of our insatiable appetites; they are the pictures of the consequences. The heightened realism of these paintings serves to remind viewers that this is a mirror to our culture. The works are both gross and enticing. The use of intense lighting, deep shadows and text coupled with exaggerated scale and unique compositions updates the classical notion of still life painting and gives it a contemporary twist.