Surrealism and the image of the bee in contemporary Turkish painting

Surrealism emerged through the psychological examination of artistic productions and by drawing on Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. The Surrealist movement, which emerged in Europe between the First and Second World Wars and influenced many art forms, began to appear in Turkish painting from 1950 onwards. This study examines surrealist influences in Turkish painting between the Republican era and the present day, providing examples of selected artists and their works in this style. During this period, abstract themes came to the fore and greater emphasis was placed on individual expression. Even if it was not a period influenced by Western art movements, surrealist influences began to appear in Turkish painting from the 1950s and 1960s onwards. The image of the bee, with its powerful narrative force, was chosen for the applications section of the study. The image of the bee has been encountered in historical mythological texts and archaeological findings with symbolic representations of fertility, cleanliness-purity, and industriousness. Images featuring bees have also been included in the subject matter, conveying the bees' survival instincts and their human-like characteristics through an imaginative expression inspired by these traits. The study aims to examine the development process of Turkish surrealist painting, provide information about its current state, and create artistic applications using a surrealist approach by utilizing the symbolic and aesthetic potential of the bee image. Keywords: Surrealism, Contemporary Turkish Painting, Surrealism, Bee Image, Painting Art.