My mother tongue is... well, Turkish. 

As a Turkish artist, who has lived away from home for more than a decade, I started to feel an undeniable pull to explore my heritage and identity.

Mother Tongue was born from the desire to tell the stories of the people of my homeland through a creative lens, and to search for my place within it. 

In Turkey, there are so many people who make things by hand, most of whom don’t even call themselves ‘makers’.
This project has given me the opportunity to travel to different regions of Turkey, to meet masters in traditional crafts, contemporary artists and everyone in between.

Mother Tongue represents the creative identity of this land authentically, and with all its complexity. It pays tribute to the power of handmade objects and their ability to tell stories, while honouring the individuals who make them.