440 pairs of silenced high heels hang on show to commemorate women murdered in Turkey

Record ID: 1432682

  • Title: 440 pairs of silenced high heels hang on show to commemorate women murdered in Turkey
  • Date: 24th September 2019
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 12, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AN ART INSTALLATION OF 440 PAIRS OF HIGH HEELS SYMBOLIZING THE NUMBERS OF WOMEN MURDERED BY THEIR HUSBANDS IN 2018 VARIOUS OF HIGH HEELS HANGING ON THE WALL ART INSTALLATION SEEN ACROSS THE STREET PEDESTRIANS LOOKING AT THE INSTALLATION (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) BANKER, SERAP KILIC, SAYING: "Frankly, I do not feel safe on the streets and this view is really awful. There are 440 pairs of shoes here and it means that many lives have been lost in 2018. This is very upsetting." WOMAN LOOKING AT THE INSTALLATION (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) BANKER, HILAL KOSEOGLU, SAYING: "As long as everybody remains silent, violence against women will increase and this violence is not just about murdering women but also suppressing and silencing them. Women are also suffering because the vital rights are not provided. We should not remain silent to this anymore, we need to speak." WOMAN TAKING PHOTOS PAIRS OF HIGH HEELS ON THE WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) SALES ENGINEER, NURTEN (SURNAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING: "Why should I work so hard for this (to live in a secure way)? Why can't I act as I wish? Why can't I go out whenever or wherever I want? Why should I always be worried? Of course, it deeply hurts me but after seeing all these (violence against women) we do not have another choice. We always have to be careful." WOMEN TAKING SELFIES IN FRONT OF THE INSTALLATION / WOMAN TAKING PHOTOS ISTANBUL, TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ARTIST VAHIT TUNA LOOKING AT INSTALLATION REFLECTION OF INSTALLATION ON TUNA'S GLASSES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) ARTIST, VAHIT TUNA, SAYING: "There are plenty of works on women's struggles and most of the artists are women. The only point of this is that we are standing in a street now and maybe people are faced with a work of art for the first time, an open and bleeding wound for the very first time. I believe this has an impact." PAIRS OF HIGH HEELS ON THE WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) ARTIST, VAHIT TUNA, SAYING: "The term 'femicide' is something people are not aware of and we see that they are discussing it but they have no clue about themselves or about the world. I think this (installation) creates awareness and is something that influences people and make them think." PAIRS OF HIGH HEELS ON THE WALL TOURISTS TAKING PHOTOS
  • Embargoed: 8th October 2019 12:08
  • Keywords: Turkey high heels women femicide artwork installation social issue domestic violence
  • Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Art,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AY0N4UF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Four hundred and forty pairs of high heel shoes hung on the walls of a building in central Istanbul to raise awareness against domestic violence. The art installation created by Turkish artist Vahit Tuna pays tribute to 440 women murdered in Turkey in 2018.
    The artist, aiming to raise awareness of women killed in domestic violence, said that he believes this installation has an impact on people since they face such a work of art for the first time.
    "I think this (installation) creates an awareness and is something that influences people and make them think," the artist said.
    In Turkey, there is an old tradition of placing the shoes of someone who passed away outside of the entrance door. The artwork has been installed on an open air space, spreading across an area of 260 square metres.
    Around 440 women were killed in 2018 in Istanbul, according to a report published by Kadin Cinayetlerini Durduracagiz Platformu (We Will Stop Femicide Platform) which keeps the records of femicides across Turkey. The platform reported that 49 women were killed by men in the month of August 2019 alone.
    (Production: Yesim Dikmen, Mehmet Emin Caliskan, Deniz Uyar)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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