My oil paintings about the 1915 Canakkale-Gallipoli Wars are surrealist interpretations of my intense feelings developed sometimes as legends and sometimes as real depictions of the dramatic act of war. We all know that this war was incredibly bigger than we can comprehend. My research on the subject for two years, the innumerable trips I made to the area, the books and stories I read, the private films and photographs I found and the spell that made me transfer my intense feelings to canvas, became a driving passion.

Whether it is me who is still fulfilling my dreams or it is my dreams that are carrying me away, is unclear but I find myself happy to be lost in the dreamy atmosphere in front of my cavases.

It is most of the time with sadness, sometimes with anger, sometimes living in the war stories that resemble legends, and feeling the energy of that war inside of me that I transform them all to colors and juxtapose them with the canvas. Sometimes in silent expectancy I feel that I am swinging in space. These are the feelings that carry me on my way. Only there is one point that I would definitely like to emphasize..

This is not a documentary. But it could be like a fairy tale and I hope that it will turn into a legend that cannot be achieved even in thoughts.

The reason that I approach this subject with such sincerity is perhaps my early loss of two loved ones, my 42 year-old older sister and our beloved 19 year-old youth, and my hopelessness in the face of having to live with these deaths. Perhaps this is my requium to all those who died young..

During those days of intense feelings, the Canakkale conversations with my dear friend Tayfun Gönüllü, dear Buket Uzuner's book 'Gallipoli' , the 25 of April Anzak (Australia-New Zealand) Days and so many Gallipoli visits forced me to do something. The only thing that I could do was 'paint'.

For almost two years, I awoke and slept with these images and lived them in my dreams. Hundreds of stories filtered through my brain and my feelings and I transferred them into colors on my canvases.

We didn't experience as much pain as those who lived the war.. We can't understand the war as much as they did. But I believe that it is important not to forget to be more respectful to the memories of the forefathers who gave their lives defending every corner of this country that they left us and that belongs to us today and to be more conscious of protecting our land which has a value that cannot be measured.. The ANZAK's come from thousands of kilometers away to protect the memories of their forefathers. It should also be our duty to protect and keep alive the memories of our forefathers. The works that I have tried to create are a prayer dedicated to all of the soldiers who died in war.