Nurettin Çakmak, a painter and sculptor living in Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, conveys a message of world peace with his pigeon sculpture, which he created using approximately half a ton of metal waste to draw attention to environmental awareness.
Çakmak, who graduated from the Fine Arts Education Department of Ziya Gökalp Faculty of Education at Dicle University in Diyarbakır, creates sculptures from waste materials in the metal recycling workshop he established beneath his home in the central Artuklu district, aiming to raise awareness about nature, environmental pollution and recycling.
Çakmak, who donates his sculptures to private companies as well as museums and institutions, has made a pigeon sculpture as his latest work.
A father of three, Çakmak first drew a pigeon on the wall of his workshop, then began constructing the sculpture using collected agricultural tools and metal materials such as discs, brake parts, chains and bolts, working among poultry.
After approximately six months of meticulous work, Çakmak completed the sculpture – about 2.5 meters (8 feet) long and weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) – and donated it to the Waste Museum within the Haşimoğlu Integrated Recycling Facility, located in the Midyat district.
‘The pigeon is a symbol’
Çakmak, who is pursuing a master’s degree in the Painting Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Mardin Artuklu University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he has been carrying out artistic works for 30 years in the city to raise awareness about nature and environmental pollution.
He explained that he has been producing works in his workshop for about five years and has so far contributed metal waste to recycling by creating more than 30 pieces – such as Shahmaran (a mythical creature believed to have a human head and a snake’s body), deer and the extinct Kauai bird –which have been exhibited in different regions of Türkiye.
His new work, the pigeon sculpture, is associated with Mardin and peace, Çakmak said: "It felt like something was missing for me not to have a pigeon among my works. I decided and started working on a Mardin pigeon six months ago. In six months, I created this beautiful piece you see. The pigeon is a symbol identified with Mardin. When you look at Mardin’s historical structures, you see pigeon reliefs in many places. Since Mardin is a city close to the skies, it has become a dwelling place for pigeons. Therefore, it was inevitable to depict this.”
‘For a more peaceful world’
Çakmak emphasized that he uses metal waste in his works to raise environmental awareness and also stressed that animals’ habitats are shrinking worldwide, and everyone should be mindful of this.
He noted that he used mostly mechanical parts in the pigeon sculpture and that it is possible to see more than 50 types of waste materials in it.
Explaining that he also included materials that can be used in agriculture, Çakmak added: "It needed to be large to be visible. I made it about 2.5 meters tall and used over 500 kilograms of material. I paid attention to using larger pieces to make it more durable. Unfortunately, our environment and nature are being polluted. I tried to create such a work to raise awareness. There are wars in many parts of the world. The pigeon also symbolizes peace. With the olive branch in the pigeon’s beak, I wanted to convey a message for world peace. We hope that peace will prevail in the world as soon as possible. We want a more just and peaceful world.”