440 pairs of women’s high heel shoes were hung on the city walls of Istanbul, Turkey, to represent the number of women murdered by their husbands in Turkey during the year.
An artist, Vahit Tuna exhibited his work in the open air as he hung 440 pairs of women’s shoes on two art installation walls in Istanbul’s Kabataş neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district in an attempt to raise awareness on women killed by domestic violence.
Tuna’s work is part of the Yanköşe, the not-for-profit art platform realized in 2017 by Kahve Dünyası, a large coffee chain in Turkey.
“We wanted everyone passing by the road to see [the work]. This is why we did not want to host the exhibition in a closed area,” Tuna was quoted as saying by Turkish media.
One of the very few public art projects in Turkey, Yanköşe reaches thousands of people every day because of its location in the city.
Spread across an area of approximately 260 square meters on the outer wall and the intersecting wall of the Kahve Dünyası branch in Kabataş, at number 85 on Meclis-i Mebusan Street, Yanköşe opens up a space of expression for artists who produce experimental contemporary artworks, hurriyetdailynews reports.