An artist painting in the dark

Feminist artist Canan shines a light on Turkey’s troubles through her work. Alan Philps meets her in Istanbul

The World Today Updated 27 November 2020 3 minute READ

Alan Philps

Former Editor, The World Today, Communications and Publishing

Turkey’s foremost feminist artist uses only her first name, Canan. She dropped her surname in protest at a law that gives her ex-husband the right to stop her using it. There is much else she has dropped: she often appears in her works naked as a challenge to Turkish society as it becomes increasingly conservative.

These are turbulent times for Turkey – a raging conflict in Syria, a rekindled civil war between Kurds and the state in the southeast, bombs going off in major cities and a huge migration crisis. At the same time the government is cracking down on dissent, with journalists and lecturers arrested regularly on terrorism charges.

So it’s probably a difficult time for an outspoken social rebel. I find the artist in the Rampa gallery, a discreet Istanbul basement next to an underground car park, which is showing her latest work.

Access the archive

The current issue is open access with previous editions reserved for our members and magazine subscribers.