child. Later I studied law and earned a doctorate in economics. I also did a stint as a government clerk. But my whole ambition from youth was to be painter. New York was the art capital in the late 50s and 60s. I went to the U.S. in 1962. It was a ‘jungle’. For 14 years I tried to make a go of it. I suffered severe material deprivation. But I had a motto, "All or nothing". In the ‘80s my situation improved.

You regard walls as ‘the mirror of society’ and have photographed them in many countries. Why walls?
Every painter has been interested in walls. For me walls are a poem, a dream, perhaps the most beautiful abstract painting in the world. You’ll realize this too if you pay attention. The first painting, the first writing, was done on the walls of a cave. It’s in our genes. Give a child a pencil and the first thing he turns to is the wall.
In my youth there were no colorful wall posters in Turkey. But the posters and ads I saw on the walls in France made a big impression on me.