Artist paints fairy girls on Cappadocia rocks

NEVŞEHİR

Artist Hatice Abalı, who lives in the Göreme district of the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir, has been creating unique artifacts by painting fairy girls on the rocks unique to the region.

Abalı, who obtains from quarries different painting-sized rocks, formed by the hardening of lava that erupted from the Erciyes and Hasan mountains millions of years ago, has been creating different designs for years.

Depicting fairy girls on these rocks, Abalı adds articles from old Ottoman newspapers to her works and makes them even more interesting.

The artist, whose works have been exhibited in many solo and joint exhibitions in Turkey and abroad, continues to work in her workshop and introduces her works to tourists.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Abalı said that her interest in painting was strengthened by earning a degree in a competition she attended in primary school and that she made efforts to create different styles in the light of her experience over the years.

Stating that she completed her master’s degree in this field after studying painting at a university, Abalı said that after working as an art teacher in various private schools for a while, she continued to work in her own workshop.

Stating that Cappadocia is a tourism region adorned with historical, natural and cultural riches as well as mystic stories, she said, “There are many legends in Cappadocia. It is believed that fairy girls lived here in the past. This is why I paint them on the rocks.”

Highlighting that she uses rocks peculiar to the region as a canvas in her works, Abalı said, “I choose the work according to the texture of the rock. If it is a veined stone, it can be broken, so I have to work carefully. The texture of a stone brings various elements to my imagination. So, I work in accordance with the texture of a stone. I use stones unique to the region. They lay the groundwork for my work in terms of texture.”

“I paint stories with the illustration method. I add old newspaper articles to the paintings. The region has a mystical and natural atmosphere. That’s why I specially choose colors and materials I use. Tourists who come to the workshop like my work very much and find it interesting,” she added.

Abalı noted her artworks are being exhibited in five different state museums in Germany and that she is preparing to open a new solo exhibition in the Cappadocia region next month.