Pencil on Paper, 2025
30x30 centimeters / 12x12 inches
Limited Edition of 30, embossed and numbered.
Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching.
Unframed.
 
This is the first piece in my new series.
 
A humble ring of sesame covered bread, yet iconic in tradition and time. A simple street food dates back to the Ottoman era, so loved it traveled from bazaars to palaces. 
 
I’m presenting you, Simit known as “Gevrek” to the people of Izmir, my hometown. It not just as street food, but as a cultural memory, a warm and crispy morning ritual for Turks. 
 
“Simitçi” is a simit seller with unmatched balance often carries a wooden or metal tray stacked high with simit on his head. Sometimes the stack reaches up to an almost hundred pieces perfectly aligned, golden in the morning light. He walks the narrow streets, his voice calling out possible empty stomachs. 
 
This piece carries my childhood memories,
drawn in pencil and wrapped in sesame. 
 
Its salty. Its crispy. Its warm. 
It tastes like home.