Since the 1980s, Turkish women were not allowed to attend universities or enter certain public spaces wearing a headscarf.

This caused a whole generation of women who either had to or chose to wear a headscarf, to be denied their right to education. In Turkey, there are strong tensions between the secular and religious elite. The secularists fear a religious take-over and curtail religious and personal freedoms.

The headscarf has become the ultimate symbol of this debate and tension. Instead of viewing the headscarf as a threat to the secular state, I like to associate it with personal freedom.          

With Sisters, I explore this idea from multiple angles. What pains me the most about the headscarf issue is the lack of dialogue and empathy between the conflicting sides. In my work I seek to create a dialogue between numerous women.

Each art piece reflects a process of negotiation with the headscarf - as a symbol, as a surface, as a form, and as a material.