Festus Okey

A while ago I posted some stencils that were all on the same pink wall (and previous posts). Well they recently painted the whole building so you cannot see those stencils anymore. On the new paint someone did this one of Festus (Faustus) Okey (there is another one near the Istiklal street). On the writing you can read his name and below it : "Rest in Peace".
Festus Okey was from Nigeria and lived in Istanbul with a fake I.D. He was arrested in August of 2007 in possession of cocaine ready for sell. He was arrested and taken to the Beyoglu Police Station were he was accidently shot by the policeman Festus was supposedly trying to take the gun from.
the Contemporary Lawyers' Association has accused the Istanbul Police Department of influencing judiciary institutions and trying to cover up the murder. (News).

Pink Wall

And here is that famous pink wall I've been telling you about those past ten days. It's at the corner of 'Turnaci Basi sokak' and 'Faik Pasa Caddesi'.
The last stencil (see previous post) was added right above the 'osman' one, at the top right of the wall.

Neva

Last and least, this one was added this week. Its meaning is unclear, its quality is very poor. So let's try to see what it could mean. 'Tek Yol' means 'the only way'. 'Neva means a lot of things.
It's a girl's name meaning harmony, melody, sound, tune, but not very common. It is the name of book. It is a river in St Petersburg, Russia. It is a Turkish Tourism Company. It used to be a bar in Taksim, Istanbul.
So I leave you the choice of what it really means : 'The only way is Neva'.

Çikita Muz

Çikita Muz (pronounce Chikita Moose, 'Çikita' being a brand, 'Muz' meaning 'banana'). Know elsewhere as Chiquita, this was the first banana brand imported to Turkey under the presidency of Turgut Özal. Before the 80's, banana was an expensive fruit only bought for the New Year (like oranges in France during the 50's I guess). So this new, bigger, cheaper banana was a big change for the people.
But here, it is another matter. Çikita Muz is the name of a song sang by the worst singer ever : Ajdar. The guy is not really a singer but he think he is and managed to record a song. This stencil is made from a still picture taken out from his music video clip. I wanted to send you the link to the youtube video (maybe here) but youtube is currently closed in Turkey (by a Turkish court) because of clips allegedly insulting the country's founding father : Atatürk. I found another link to this video clip right here. Everybody here thinks that the guy is a joke so that's probably why someone made a stencil out of it.

6:45

This one is intriguing. I didn't really know what it was at first because of what's written on it. In small characters, it says : 'For those who like dangerous games'. In big characters it says 'SIXFORTYFIVE'. And I've already seen other stencils with the mention 645 in number but still, no clue of what it is. But after a short research over the Internet I found out that it was an independent books editing house. I still don't know why they used this sentence because it is not the name of a book. It is more likely that it is kind of a motto. I've read another one on their web page : 'It's a trip of the losers' club'. Intriguing, interesting and weird.
Its size is approximately 35x22 cm.

Alien History

I don't really know what it is. It looks like a reproduction of an historical painting (or else). but I'm not really sure. I could not find anyone who could help me about this one. Some of the guys look like aliens but I really doubt that it is the case. If anyone know feel free to comment on his one. It was made on top of the 'b to b' stencil. Its size is about 30x20 cm.

b to b

What is b to b ? It's a music DJ playing mostly at the Dogzstar, a bar/club in Taksim (here). His name is Burak and his nickname his Burax = B to B. He created a record company called Vinyl Culture Records with three other LP lovers and has become a respected DJ in the underground arena in Istanbul.









I belive this one is also related to the 'O Yeah' stencil. It might be the same guy doing both. Because they're often seen together, it is the same font.

MecZup

Today we're still going on with our pink wall with an interesting word or should I say an interesting definition. Meczup would mean actually 'crazy' or deranged' but it is more used to described the state of mind that Sufi Dervishes reach when they get completely carried away by a mystical experience and try to reach religious ecstasy (one of the known method is the whirling dance).

Kreş

Kreş (pronounce Créche) meaning kindergarten is a Turkish rock band who had their first album (Zaman Yok : No Time) released in 2007. You can visit their MySpace page right here (Turksih). The band is composed of three friends playing together for a while now but with another band name (Popcorn). They change their name to Kreş when they started to be successful in 2006 and chose this one because kindergarten is the only school where you can use your imagination without limits.

Malcolm X

This one is on the same pink wall but further from the other ones, it is a representation of the American Black Muslim minister Malcolm X. Its size is about 35x30 cm. You can spot this one all around in the neighborhood.

Osman Quarter

All I can say is that this Osman is a productive and working man, that's the fourth stencils of him on this wall as far as I know. This one is an inverted stencil of about 5x15 cm.

Colored

Another simple one added recently. Its size is about 20x3 cm. You can see this one in a lot of places around the Cihangir district.

Osman ter

Another one from Osman or should I say two ? It's a set of two guys standing above this ventilation grill. It's actually very close to the ground and a bit further from all the other stencils but eh ! it's the same wall, isn't it (well you see later) ? This one was also added recently, I even think it's one of the last one that have been added here.
About 5x15 cm.

O yeah !!

A simple one added recently as well. When I say recently I mean 6-8 months, a year max. Approximately 5x30 cm.










This one might be related to 'b to b'. I think it is the same guy who did both.

Osman Bis : Monkey Business

Another nice work by Osman added recently. Both the message and the drawing reminded me of the monkeys from Banksy.

Osman

Osman is probably the guy doing this stencil. I have (again) a series of work of this guy that I will (again) post later. He is easily recognizable because he signs his work or if not there is (often) this little guy with a tie (about 30x10 cm).

Art [heart] You

This one is very nice too. The little painter girl and the little DJ guy look cool. I have a series about this one too that I will post later.

Fisheye

This little one (about 7x7 cm) was added much later and is below all the others.

Monkey-Fly

Again a very creative one. I happen to have a series about this one that I will post later. About 30x40 cm.

Triiicycle, triiicycle !!

Well, if I say that this is one of my favorites, you're just gonna make fun of me, but it is, really. This pink wall has pretty good stuff on it. With an approximate size of 15x15 cm.