In Istanbul, at the Academy of Fine Arts, I quickly — and without assistance — came to the conclusion that painting was a mode of expression and, inevitably, of self-expression, and after that there seemed no point in continuing my studies. In any case, my teachers didn’t see much in me. I only ever presented my most trivial efforts: if my works expressed anything personal, or exposed any personal particularity, I went to extreme lengths to hide them away, lest they ever see the light of day. If someone ever happened to find one, I would gasp like a naked woman caught in an intimate moment and
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