Artist Halit Terzi creates large-scale portrait of Bergen using stove coal

Halit Terzi, a 27-year-old painter and art teacher based in the Torul district of Gümüşhane, has created a large-scale portrait of the iconic arabesque singer Bergen using stove coal.

Terzi, a graduate of Ondokuz Mayıs University, drew inspiration from his childhood in a home heated by stoves, where he noticed the marks coal left on paper while helping to bag it. The resulting artwork measures 150 centimeters by 100 centimeters. The artist stated that he selected the best pieces of coal from a sack to complete the piece, noting the difficulty of working with the dusty medium.

Through this unique technique, Terzi aims to blend his passion for art with social issues, specifically drawing attention to violence against women by depicting Bergen, a singer whose life was tragically cut short.