DIREN GEZI

July 4, 2013May 1, 2018 Wu Ming

Students of Istanbul Technical University’s (İTÜ) Maritime Faculty staged an unconventional protest in support of Gezi Park activists by welcoming Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım with a dissident message written using nautical flag signs at their graduation ceremony.

A group of students spelled out “Diren Gezi” with nautical signs, which translates as “Resist Gezi,” one of the most popular slogans and hashtags used during the Gezi Park protests.

Similar protests have been staged in other universities, but the İTÜ students are believed to be the first to resort to nautical signs to make their voices heard.

The photo was widely shared on Twitter.

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Chapulling (Turkish: çapuling) is a neologism originating in the 2013 protests in Turkey, coined from Prime Minister Erdoğan's use of the term çapulcu (roughly translated to "looters") to describe the protestors.

The protests started with the occupation of the Istanbul Gezi Park by a small group protesting against the demolition of a symbolic park in the center of the City, finally it became a mass demonstration with a general strike on June 17th 2013.

The word Çapuling quickly caught on, adopted by the demonstrators and online activists, and became a viral video.

Many took the concept further by integrating the unique nature of the demonstrations and defined it as "to act towards taking the democracy of a nation to the next step by reminding governments of their reason for existence in a peaceful and humorous manner."

The Çapuling section of InEnArt describes and reflects the visual culture, humor and irony of the peaceful protestors (the Çapulcu) as it developed in many forms in Turkey during 2013.

The authors of InEnArt will publish regular one phenomen of the Çapuling Culture: e.g. the Duran Adam (Standing Man), the penguin, gas festival, the woman in red...

Read also: Why Turks are good in protesting!