Istighfar (or Estagfurullah in Turkish) means “I seek the forgiveness of Allah“, uttered in times of sin, errors, needing forgiveness or humbling. This phrase in this iteration has a different connotation in (modern) Turkish as a way to divert praise (kinda like an “all good” “no worries” “nah, man” equivalent), but I’ve always heard the Arabic version used casually in real life to express digest, frustration or even fright – which is what Zeynel is doing.

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These three spreads (this one and the two previous) are designed to be a triptych. The first is the usual Ottoman miniature, the second is a Byzantine homage, and the third is European tapestry. Zeynel is passing from home to danger, familiar to foreign, city to nature, contemporary to past, Istanbul to Eastern Europe, Ottoman to Roman … life to death.

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“Mehmed Zeynel” is the first half of his given name!