Turkish mural unveiled to mark anniversary of Gezi protests

A Turkish artist on May 30 unveiled a two-storey-high mural featuring those killed in protests two years ago over an Istanbul park that spiralled into nationwide demonstrations against the leadership of Tayyip Erdo?an.
   
The 5-by-10-metre painting by Haydar Özay was unveiled on the second anniversary of the protests that began as an effort to stop bulldozers from razing Gezi Park, one of the few green spaces of near Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square, to build a shopping mall.

Unrest quickly spread across Turkey, a revolt against what protesters said was the increasing authoritarianism of Erdo?an's decade-long rule.

The then prime minister accused a coalition of "anarchists, terrorists and vandals" of orchestrating the demonstrations.

Art was a central element of the protests, which erupted at the end of May 2013. Graffiti lampooning Erdo?an and other spontaneous artistic expressions flourished during the weeks protesters occupied the park and the adjacent Taksim Square.    

"People had felt so much pressure that there was a volcano-like explosion of creativity. Gezi was the perfect stage," said Özay, 46, who knew the park from his childhood when his father was its gardener.
   
"Gezi has surprisingly transcended its own duration and is still unfolding, especially in art."   

Özay's massive, brightly coloured work on canvas depicts figures familiar to protesters in swirling abstract brushstrokes. A woman in a red dress is tear-gassed; Berkin Elvan, who died aged 15 after he was hit in the head by a police gas canister, plays marbles.
   
At least seven people died in the protests, which according to police records were attended by 3 million of Turkey's 77 million people.