Meet the female sculptor who turns raw metal into living art

Before the city awakens, Gulfidan Soyugur mounts her motorcycle and rides to her 12-square-meter workshop in Sakarya. 

In the quiet of early morning, she dons her overalls, turns on the lights, and begins the meticulous process of transforming raw metal into expressive sculptures. 

Each day is a blend of discipline and creativity, where sweat, sparks, and patience converge to bring her visions to life.

For Soyugur, metal is more than a material; it is a medium for storytelling. Its cold, unyielding surface hides potential, waiting for the artist to breathe life into it. 

With every weld, every strike of her hammer, and every sanding stroke, she shapes the metal not only into forms but also into emotion. 

“The magic is in giving metal a soul,” she explains, finding a metaphor for life in the way resilience and guidance can shape raw materials into something meaningful.

From a young age, Soyugur was drawn to making and creating. 

While other children played on computers, she spent hours in the yard molding clay or building model airplanes. 

This innate curiosity for shaping objects eventually led her to study sculpture at Anadolu University’s Fine Arts Faculty, where she explored wood, marble, metal, and clay. 

Visitors to her workshop are often surprised to see a woman welding, grinding, and shaping heavy metal. Soyugur thrives in these moments, confident among the many men in industrial spaces who have become her friends and collaborators. 

Each sculpture embodies a unique narrative. While some are developed through structured projects, others emerge organically from Soyugur’s personal experiences, reflecting joy, struggle, hope, or introspection. 

Her work, though deeply personal, resonates universally, inviting viewers to engage with emotions and stories that transcend words. 

One of Soyugur’s sculptures can currently be seen at Alacati Marina, yet the artist aims to exhibit her works in a variety of other locations across Türkiye. 

She plans to expand her workshop, creating a larger space where metal, wood, and clay can be combined for more ambitious projects. 

In the future, she also hopes to open the studio to visitors, providing an opportunity for women to create sculptures alongside her.