My Sumi-e Practice in Türkiye

Türkiye’deki Sumi-e Pratiğim

My practice approaches sumi-e not as a fixed formula, but as a living language of ink, breath, gesture and space. Working in Istanbul, Türkiye, I bring this Japanese ink tradition into dialogue with my own visual memory, cultural references and contemporary experience.

Through ensō, the lotus, the human figure and recurring images drawn from Turkish and Japanese cultural memory, I explore how an inherited artistic language can remain rooted in its origins while continuing to change through personal experience.

A Practice Between Türkiye and Japan

My relationship with sumi-e has developed through practice rather than imitation. I do not approach Japanese ink painting as a style to reproduce, but as a way of thinking through gesture, restraint, emptiness and the living quality of ink.

From Türkiye, this language naturally encounters another field of memory. The tulip, Anatolian references, music and the human figure enter into dialogue with the ensō, sakura, lotus and the spatial sensitivity I have encountered through Japanese art.

For me, this meeting is not an attempt to merge two cultures into a single image. It is a space in which different memories can remain distinct while still speaking to one another.

Children of the Earth – Sakura and Tulip
Ensō / Sumi-e, 2026
Exhibited at The National Art Center, Tokyo

A Practice Documented Over Time

My engagement with sumi-e has gradually entered public, academic and international contexts. In 2019, my practice and selected works were included in a master’s thesis at Kastamonu University examining contemporary sumi-e art in Japanese culture. The same period also brought media attention in Japan through a Chukyo TV feature on my work.

In 2024, I presented the Turkish–Japanese Friendship Sumi-e Exhibition in Istanbul during the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Japan. In 2026, my work Children of the Earth – Sakura and Tulip was exhibited at the 25th International Sumi-e Association Exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo.

These moments do not define the work by themselves, but they trace the path through which my relationship with sumi-e has continued to deepen, change and enter dialogue with different audiences.

Gönül (The Inner Heart)
Seven Climates Ensō / 7 İklim Ensō, 2026

Where the Practice Continues

Today, my sumi-e practice continues through ongoing bodies of work such as the Seven Climates Ensō and Lotus Series. In these works, ink becomes a way of approaching inner states, human relationships, memory and transformation rather than simply describing visible forms.

The ensō remains central to this exploration, sometimes as a circle, sometimes as a threshold, distance or field of tension. The lotus, the human figure, water and music enter the work as recurring presences, allowing traditional materials and gestures to move toward a contemporary and personal language.

I see this practice as unfinished by nature. Each work is part of an ongoing inquiry into how little is needed for an image to carry memory, emotion and breath.

Together, Each in Their Own Way
Lotus Series / Nilüfer Serisi, 2026

Explore the work
Selected Works · Series · Studio Notes · Press & Recognition