Praise of walking | Esra Gultekin

In Praise of Walking (2019- On going)

Portrait of Lisa Çalan

On June 5, 2015, just two days before the general election in Turkey, thousands of Kurds in support of HDP gathered at the Istasyon Meydani in Diyarbakir. On that day, the ISIS' bloody assault started the long-lasting trauma and prolonged legal judgement. Two explosions on the same day and at the same place killed 5 people and left more than 400 wounded.

Kurdish film director Lisa Calan is one of the hundreds of people who injured in the attack. She lost her legs during the explosion. After initial treatment in Turkey, she went to Germany for prosthetic treatment. However, due to incorrectly implementation of sockets in Germany, she returned to Turkey with broken bone ends and had to have surgery again. Lisa had a series of surgeries incessantly. Each time her leg was gradually shortened. After having eight surgeries, Lisa had to go through a heavier and difficult treatment to be able to walk again. She went to Australia for the implant treatment and she started walking for the first time. Although she started walking again, many complications developed after this surgery too. Lisa has still a long treatment in front of her, but in her own words, Lisa continues struggling stubbornly. “That couple of seconds took such a place in my mind and memories that I can talk about for days,” says Lisa referring to explosion moment. She confronted with the bomber in the court many times, Lisa does not give up seeking for justice too.

Despite her loss of both legs and ongoing medical treatment, she does not give up her struggle to walk again. This project has been witnessing Lisa's time in the Netherlands and Germany where she visited for her medical treatments. It aims to portray her wounds, aesthetic norms of the society in where she lives, examine her existence in the space and her desire to keep on her life as usual by inviting the audience.

With help and mentorship of Mert Çakır.

Lisa is putting on make up before going out with her friends. She likes adding small shades on her eyes and picking diverse colours. Jan. 7, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

In a bar Lisa went with her friends to watch a local jazz band, she can't stop her natural urge to dance and beckons others in the bar to join her. Jan.6, 2019. The Hague, Holland.

Lisa checking new prosthetic leg models on the internet. "Many people look for prosthetics that look like real legs but I would prefer to have colourful ones to help me accept them, more easily, as a part of my process to recovery", she says. Jan.9, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

Lisa is resting in a house she has been staying as a guest in Schiedam, Netherlands. As the new prosthetic legs are expensive, she's discussing with her parents in Turkey the costs and procedures. Jan.9, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

Prosthetic legs are being charged for the next day. A single full charge will normally last for two days at most when used actively and each legs weighs around 5 kilograms alone. Jan. 7, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

After having a quick shower, Lisa is wearing her prosthetic legs. "Having a shower requires a lot of preparation and planning on where to put the towel, finding a stool and where to place the prosthetics where I can reach them easily", she explains the intricate planning required for what would be for an able bodied person, a quick shower. Jan. 7, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

In Dam Square of Amsterdam, Lisa is feeding the pigeons. She explains that she's seeing birds so often in her dreams and asks “Do you think someone can fly if they don't have their legs?”. Jan. 10, 2019. Amsterdam, Holland.

While choosing her dress Lisa prefers to boldly and proudly show her mechanical legs to people rather than disguising them as organic ones. "People are looking at me and say that I was a beautiful woman once and pity me", As she’s talking she says that she wants to show she is still beautiful and can be powerful too. Jan. 10, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

With a friend, she is looking for new records for her collection. Jan. 08, 2019. Delft, Holland. 

Lisa needs to stay at the hospital after surgery; however, she is checking for a return ticket to go back home as the overnight stays at the hospital are hard for her to afford. Apr. 13, 2019. Hannover, Germany.

The doctor is conducting the first examination after the operation. She feels anxious and says "It had taken a long time for my legs to recover from the first surgery and now this last operation has opened new scars and that makes me nervous.” She says, describing her anxiety. Apr. 13, 2019. Hannover, Germany. 

In order to maintain the metal implants on her legs that help her to walk, Lisa underwent a surgical operation reshaping the tissues around the implants. Apr. 14, 2019. Hannover, Germany.

Every morning, Lisa checks her implants on her upper legs to make sure everything is all right. Due to the cold weather, soreness called 'phantom pain' occurs from time to time and causes a lot of complications when the implants are not checked carefully by herself in a regular basis. Jan. 10, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

“Many people carry their luggage with the help of their legs, but I carry my legs in my luggage. I also carry leg ‘spare parts’, chargers etc in every country where I went for medical treatment and yet I am still going back home with nothing more than disappointment", says Lisa, describing her disappointment and frustration of the medical processes she went through recently. Jan. 11, 2019. Schiedam, Holland.

Lisa is waiting with her friend until the departure time of her flight. She is anxious because her flight has a connection and she's feeling nervous about the time she'll be spending at the connecting airport alone. Jan. 11, 2019. Amsterdam, Holland. 