Istanbul Drawings

Between 2020 and 2023, Dutch visual artist Bart Lodewijks spent periods of time in Istanbul, intending to draw his signature chalk lines as interventions in the urban space. Through the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, he searched for walls to draw on and people to give him permission. A central figure in all this is Hasan, a carpenter from Istanbul’s Yenikapı quarter, who becomes his ally in a city where hospitality and wariness exist side by side. What starts as a quest for suitable locations turns into a tale of chance, conflict, and the unwritten rules of the streets.

Languages: English, Dutch, Turkish