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 The 5-by-10-metre painting by Haydar Ozay was unveiled on the
second anniversary of the protests that began as an effort to
stop bulldozers from razing Gezi Park, one of the few green
spaces of Istanbul, to build a shopping mall.
Unrest quickly spread across Turkey, a revolt against what
protesters said was the increasing authoritarianism of Erdogan's
decade-long rule.
The then prime minister accused a coalition of "anarchists,
terrorists and vandals" of orchestrating the demonstrations.
Art was a central element of the protests, which erupted at the
end of May 2013. Graffiti lampooning Erdogan and other
spontaneous artistic expressions flourished during the weeks
protesters occupied the park and the adjacent Taksim Square.
"People had felt so much pressure that there was a volcano-like
explosion of creativity. Gezi was the perfect stage," said Ozay,
46, who knew the park from his childhood when his father was its
gardener.
"Gezi has surprisingly transcended its own duration and is still
unfolding, especially in art."
Ozay's massive, brightly colored work on canvas depicts figures
familiar to protesters in swirling abstract brushstrokes. A
woman in a red dress is tear-gassed; Berkin Elvan, who died aged
15 after he was hit in the head by a police gas canister, plays
marbles.
At least seven people died in the protests, which according to
police records were attended by 3 million of Turkey's 77 million
people.
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After a police crackdown, Erdogan moved swiftly to reassert his
authority. His ruling AK Party swept to victory in municipal polls
in March 2014 and in August he won the nation's first direct
presidential election.
As head of state, he is constitutionally barred from party politics,
but critics say he is actively campaigning for the AK Party ahead of
a June 7 general election.
Still, Gezi sowed the seed for other political movements, including
the People's Democratic Party, which hopes to win 10 percent of the
vote to clear a threshold and enter parliament on a leftwing
platform that includes some protester demands.
Another after-effect was the trials of hundreds of people for taking
part in the protests. Most have been acquitted, but cases against
dozens of people continue, said lawyer Can Atalay.
Ozay, who spent a year painting the mural, said he is not worried
about prosecution because art is typically given greater license in
Turkey than other forms of protest.
Taksim Square is off limits to crowds on the anniversary due to a
police cordon, so Ozay is displaying the painting at the Union of
Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, whose members helped
lead the protests.
(Editing by Michael Roddy and Rosalind Russell)
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