Focus on Güzel İstanbul and discuss the Later events.
Gürdal Duyar, the sculptor of Güzel Istanbul, said little about the statue's fate and did not participate in the controversy. In 1995, Turkish journalist Nebil Özgentürk asked Duyar about the repeated removals of the artist's work. Duyar said his role as the artist was limited to creation of sculptures, adding: "Our job is making sculptures; removing, breaking or changing their location is a different area of expertise".In 2017, the Istanbul Municipality obscured the sculpture by surrounding it with a fence made of saplings following complaints from parents about its visibility from a nearby playground. After news of this censorship spread, a campaign on social media criticized the censorship and succeeded in having the saplings removed.
Istanbul Gürdal Duyar Nebil Özgentürk Istanbul Municipality