Göksel Sevim, an artist certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has created nearly 230 miniature artworks illustrating daily life and archaeological efforts at the ancient city of Troy, located in the village of Tevfikiye near the northwestern city of Çanakkale in Türkiye.
Sevim, a 69-year-old former fisheries biologist, developed an interest in art after attending ceramic workshops during her holidays. Following retirement, she devoted himself to artistic pursuits, teaching ceramics in Istanbul – where her son was studying at university – and later studying miniature painting at the Caferağa Madrassa, an arts and culture center.
Under the mentorship of renowned miniature artist Taner Alakuş, Sevim honed her skills and, in 2010, received an official "Artist Certificate" from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Encouraged by her late friend and former head of the Troy excavations, German archaeologist Manfred Osman Korfmann, Sevim began working on a dedicated series of Troy-themed miniatures 15 years ago. She established her own studio in Çanakkale and used characters from Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” as well as scenes from archaeological digs and depictions of daily life in the ancient city, as inspiration for her collection.
After Korfmann’s death, Sevim temporarily halted the project, deeply affected by the loss of her friend. “I cried a lot after his passing. I couldn't continue,” she told Anadolu Agency (AA). “Later, professor Rüstem Aslan, the current head of excavations, encouraged me, saying, ‘You've come this far – you can finish it.’ With his support, I was able to complete depictions of all nine historical layers of the city and open an exhibition.”
Each artwork required months of research and up to nine months of meticulous creation, Sevim said, noting the unique freedom that miniature art offers.
“In miniatures, there’s no perspective – you're free to place anything wherever you want, in any color,” she said. “You can paint a horse blue or put a large flower in the foreground and a small person in the back. That kind of creative freedom pushes the limits of your imagination. When I start a piece, I feel like I’m inside it. Time ceases to exist – I watch the Çanakkale Strait from my window.”
Sevim said she finds great joy in sharing her work, especially after receiving enthusiastic responses at both national and international exhibitions.
