Street artists paint the picture of unhappiness: ‘We cannot make a living’

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Street artists İzinsiz (Unpermitted) and Canavar (Monster) have painted a mural painting in Yoğurtçu Park in İstanbul's Kadıköy in memory of the people who have lost their lives due to economic hardships.

In reference to a poem by Nazım Hikmet Ran, which reads, "Can you paint the picture of happiness, Abidin," the artists have named their work "Mutsuzluğun Resmi" (The Picture of Unhappiness).

"Picture of Unhappiness - This picture has been painted in memory of the people who have lost their lives due to economic hardships during the pandemic."

A message shared on İzinsiz's social media account reads: 

"We have been trapped in a rose-colored hell. As if the old version had been normal, our new normal has come with bans and rules. I wanted to write down today's situation on a wall.Then, I said to Canavar, 'Can you paint me the picture of unhappiness?' Canavar unburdened oneself.

"We shared our sorrows on the wall. S/he gave me a 'Guernica' so that I could paint a little revolt on it. 'The happy owes the unhappy.' Lots of love to those who share unhappiness, just like sharing happiness..."

'Those who sugar-coat the pill...'

Canavar has also said: "At a time when I hear the cries of hopelessness, futurelessness and approaching death from people around me, from my friends and close friends, amid our shared problems, we turn to the ones who try to sugar-coat the pill and tell them, 'You did this.' I wanted to make happy, at least for a little bit, with 'The Picture of Unhappiness.' Even a bitter happiness... You are not alone, I am not alone."

Saying, "All unhappy people of the world, unite!" on social media, the artists have shared a short video about the painting process of the work that they describe as a "mixed technique on outbreak":

Dünyanın bütün mutsuzları birleşin!@canavarca1 #Mutsuzlugunresmi #Geçinemiyoruz pic.twitter.com/DLkEJjc1J6

— izinsiz (@_izinsiz) April 10, 2021

İzinsiz has also given an interview to Oğuz Gazan from bigumigu about the work and shared the following information about its name:

"Nazım Hikmet and Abidin Dino had a famous dialogue. Based on this, we have taken down the current situation on the wall.

"To us, art is the journal of society. We have done what you will encounter when you take the picture of the days that we are going through.

"This picture is as pink as the media which has drifted away from reality, as corrupted as the ones who have caused us to be in this situation now and as desperate as each one of us feels now." (AÖ/SD)