Powerful Works of Art As A Response To The Disastrous Earthquake In Turkey

As most of us have heard, Turkey has been going through the worst natural disaster in the country's modern history. A devastating earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale hit Southern Turkey on the 6th of February, 2023, followed by a second major earthquake (hitting the region after 9 hours) and aftershocks. 

Around 47 thousand people lost their lives, and many more were injured and/or left the disaster zone. 

As a response to the earthquake in Turkey, many artists used their talents to raise awareness about the disaster and spread hope. Here is some of the art shared by artists over the past weeks.

 

Vigan Demiri

 

 

Hadil Alsafadi

 

Hüseyin Şahin, Turkey

 “Our people who were under the rubble of the earthquake in my country need your help to be saved.” – Hüseyin Şahin

 

Haitian Saigh, Syria

 

Hediye Sumeyra Korkmaz

 

Cagdas Kara

 

Fuad Al-Ymani

 Prague-based visual artist, Fuad al-Ymani, shared his sketch of Syrian rescuers trying to shift rubble in their attempts to find survivors of the earthquake. Ymani said he spent a long time trying to find the best way to reflect the pain of the scenes coming out of the disaster zone. “I don’t think there is anything capable of expressing the amount of tragedy and pain this disaster has caused,” he wrote on Instagram.

 

Volunteers LED By Photographer Ogun Sever Okur, Turkey

Volunteers in Turkey have placed red balloons on the rubble of destroyed buildings, to remember child victims of the recent earthquakes.

Led by photographer Ogun Sever Okur, they climbed up the debris in Hatay and attached balloons to metal wires sticking out of the piles of debris.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

 

Alev Neto

 "‘The Rose that Grew from the Concrete’ is a poem by Tupac Shakur. He uses the rose as a metaphor for his own life where he was able to reach his goals in life despite the hardships and lack of care that he faced on the way.” - Alev Neto

 

İpek Mörel

 "Demolition"

 

Saydmedia

 

Camila Echavarria

 The artist wants to share hope for all the Turkey and Syria earthquake victims. Even if everything looks black and white at the moment, there is hope. Life can be colorful again.
Camila converts the earthquake seismograph graph into a beautiful Garden of Tulips (the national flower of the region), where all tulips are in gray, except one which resembles resilience, hope and positivity.

 

Alev Neto

 "When your whole world comes crashing down."

 

Zeynep Cilek, Istambul

 

Salam Hamed, Syria

 Syrian artist Salam Hamed stands with her daughter next to street art that Salam painted on the rubble of a damaged building in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Jandaris, Syria, February 22, 2023.

 

Yasin Yaman

 "We are struggling with the biggest disaster in Türkiye’s history. We have lost thousands of people, we are so sorry for our losses. We will heal the wounds together and overcome this disaster together. Because we are strong together and we are one fist!"

 

Aziz Asmar And Salam Hamed, Syria

 Syrian artists Aziz Asmar and Salam Hamed paint street art on the rubble of damaged buildings in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake.

 

Sudarsan Pattnaik

 My SandArt with the message 'Join Hands to Save The Earthquake Victims' at Puri beach in India," the artist tweeted.

 

Hacer Bolat

 The image depicts the situation in Turkey where rescuers are still sifting through the rubble with faint hopes of finding more survivors.

 

Camila Echavarria

 

John-Paul Pietrus, London

 Celebrated fashion photographer and eyewear-jewelry designer, John-Paul Pietrus, holds a charity print sale every year, and this year he’s dedicating his fundraising efforts to the Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal.
 
"I am running a charity eyewear-jewelry sale with a signed gallery print of this photograph I took in Cappadocia, Turkey, for Harper’s Bazaar. I have visited the region many times, and Turkey holds a special place in my heart. I am heartbroken, as many of us are, at recent events," the artist shared on his Instagram.

 

Cagdas Kara

 by Camila Echavarria