The third exhibition of my project was held in Istanbul, in the Turkish cultural center Artizan Sanat. People of different nationalities, especially from Turkey, attended the events organised for the exhibition. I felt very grateful to the women who accompanied me during the meetings, facilitated the conversation and translated from English into Turkish. Without their help it would have been difficult to overcome the language barriers.

There was a wide discussion on topics related to the journey experienced from within, focusing on the reasons that drive a person to go on a journey of self-discovery. In particular, the issue of how the feeling of being lost that I experienced at a certain point in my life determined my decision to leave, despite my many resistances. It became clear that being lost is a message that signals when one is not on the right path and is an incentive to seek a new direction in which to find oneself.

Looking at my journey from the perspective of the stages of the Hero's Journey described by mythologist Joseph Campbell in his book 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', the stage of the journey known as 'the belly of the whale' was explored, symbolizing the moment of final separation from the known world and self. I was asked to recount when and how I faced this moment.

Talking to Turkish women who have travelled to both the East and the West, I found that they considered travelling in the East to be more dangerous, whereas for me it was the opposite. I have found common ground with some of them in seeing travel as an opportunity to spend more time in contact with nature and to reflect on what is really essential in life. Another fundamental aspect we have in common is the interpretation of synchronicities, which is essential in deciding how to continue the journey.

Looking at my paintings, some participants wondered where the pain was in the narrative of my journey, because despite the richness of colour and the vividness of my canvases, pain does not seem to be part of my narrative. In fact, pain is described in some of my works, but it is not emphasized, it is not the undisputed protagonist of the whole composition.

One of the participants in the meetings appreciated the considerable effort I put into producing my works, which authentically portray the life of local communities and deal with universal themes. However, he stressed that, in his opinion, it is not possible to convey a universal message that can unite all cultures, as each culture has its own distinctive way of perceiving the world. An example is the Israeli-Palestinian war, which has meaning for some and not for others. Peace is not a universal value, but relative to the cultural context in which it is considered.