Kafro, Aramaic and translatable as "Little Village," is located in the midst of the hilly and historic landscape of Anatolia (present-day Turkey) and has a history, according to oral tradition, of more than two thousand years. This is the place of my ancestors. Here I was born in 1966, the son of a traditional family closely tied to the well-known Middle Eastern art of blacksmithing of the region, which led to the setting up of a family gold workshop near Istanbul's venerable Gold Bazaar.

This place, surrounded by a beautiful landscape with breathtaking sunsets and historic mountains, which Assyrians, Aramaeans, Persians, Romans and not least in the First World War and into the 80s various parties fought for, is and remains my deep-rooted spiritual home.

A home that still gives me spiritual inspiration today and the hope that the past teaches us to see the beautiful in everything. In this, the beautiful, the enchanting, the smile of a loved one becomes visible - for example, in the face of an artist, my later teacher in Istanbul (Fuat Igdebeli/1925 – 2015), who taught me the basic principles of art across religious and cultural boundaries as a child. Even today, I remember this wonderful and untroubled time in the lively metropolis on the Bosporus, seen through the childlike eyes of a student, when I think of that person who recognized my talent. He taught me with a smile, completely selflessly, what inspires me today in my paintings and works, well aware of his heritage. Many, many years later, when I found my way in my new homeland, in Europe, and after many years as an entrepreneur, I once again remembered what matters in my life. It manifests itself in every single brush stroke, every single color tone, every single type of material that I take in my hands to create something that is more than the sum of its individual parts. When I paint, portray, form, I am guided by a passion that is fed by the interpersonal and spirituality that I feel - connected to my ancestral home, the people I have met, the places I have been and last but not least my new home.

Art is a kind of channel that symbolizes goodness in the whole world. No matter what we may believe in or where we come from. I am committed to this philosophy.