Turkish artist hangs 440 pairs of shoes in memory of women murdered by their husbands

Every day, women die at the hands of their partners, and Turkish artist Vahit Tuna will not sit back and watch. Instead, he has made a haunting statement on femicide through an artwork consisting of 440 pairs of shoes — the number of women killed by their husbands in Turkey in 2018.

According to Daily News, Tuna decided to display the shoes in an open area to raise awareness among the thousands of people who walk Istanbul's streets.

“We wanted everyone passing by the road to see the work. This is why we did not want to host the exhibition in a closed area.”

The walls on which the artwork is displayed are used by a different artist each year to showcase their work. For Tuna, it was important to use the opportunity to raise awareness of gender-based violence.

His display will be up for six months.

Reports in The Metro  say two buildings feature the installation, one in Istanbul’s Kabataş neighbourhood and the other in the Beyoğlu district.

Tuna's work has been well received, with many people conveying messages of appreciation on his social media pages. One user said, “Awesome work, I'll visit it”. Another said, “Thank you for this, everyone should see".

Tuna said he chose heels because they represented independence and femininity. All the women killed by their husbands were robbed of opportunities to lead independent lives, he added.