Yalcin Cihangir (b. 1968 in Büyükcamili, Turkey) grew up next door to his uncle, an ironsmith, whom he went to work for after just five years of schooling. The “wild child”, as he describes himself, learned how to handle iron and paint. At the age of 30, he became a truck driver and spent half a year driving back and forth across Europe.
When he came to Amsterdam in the nineties, he decided to stay and took a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant. He was fascinated by the Dutch cycling culture and decided to design and produce an attractive family cargo bike. The project, known as Fietsfabriek, quickly became a success, and before long Yalcin had his own factories in the Netherlands and abroad. Eventually, however, the company went bankrupt, and the experience proved to be a bitter one. Yalcin ended up living on the streets and went back to washing dishes for a living. Two years ago, he started drawing out of “anger and boredom”. It turns out that Yalcin, the once well-known bike designer, is an inspired and spiritual artist who believes that everything has a soul. In a short time, he has produced several hundred drawings in which he allows his spirits to reveal themselves
