Artist paints paper collectors’ hand-pulled carts

ISTANBUL

A 26-year-old artist has been painting hand-pulled carts with gunnysacks of waste paper collectors as part of the “Faces of the Street” project he started a year ago to raise awareness of those “unnamed laborers of the recycle sector.”

“I draw giant portraits of paper collectors on their carts. They ride the carts every day on the streets of Istanbul. So the project is like a sustainable art exhibition opened every day,” Berkay Kahvecioğlu told the Demirören News Agency.

“Be aware! People can face these artistic carts anytime anywhere in Istanbul,” he added.

Emin Kepeci and İsmail Kırti are two paper collectors who are happy being a part of the project.

“Our carts look nicer with our portraits,” Kepeci said.

“My cart attracts many Istanbul residents. People ask, ‘Who painted this?’ Hearing such reactions makes me happy,” Kırti noted.