About Me

The year I was born, Atari introduced Pong, kicking off the first generation of video games in America. A Japanese soldier was just discovered in Guam after living in the jungle for 28 years. Canada banned the sale of firecrackers. But in the small Turkish town of Havran, we knew nothing of these world events. All we talked about was that everyone was leaving for work in Germany, and whether  it was going to be a good year for olives.

In 1972, Turkey sent its 500,000th worker to Germany. And it was a great year for olives.

My parents did not go to Germany. And so I grew up running between fields, climbing olive trees, and catching free rides by hanging on the backs of horse carts. The beauty of rows of cherries in wooden boxes, lines of an old olive tree trunk, shapely fig leaves between the thin branches—these things caught my attention early. I loved the orderly chaos, repeating patterns and hidden beauty around me.

Now, as a full-time artist, I still look at the world with the curious eyes of the girl from the village. Traveling around the world, living in many different cities made my eyes even wider. I grew steadily more fascinated with both the works of both man and nature.

I feel very lucky that art and I found each other. I think we make a good couple.

Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about my photos.

email / aynur@mac.com 
mobile / 646-701-2709
instagram / agwgallery