Collection: Yakup Nakci

Yakup Nakci is a Stockholm-based artist from Turkey whose work arises from an ongoing negotiation with darkness – both as a space and a state. His practice is rooted in intuition, repetition, and a self-taught language shaped by years of experimentation.

Nakci works exclusively with pen, scaling down his process to its most essential form. Each line is deliberate and irreversible – a silent confrontation between control and surrender. His drawings evolve slowly, revealing themselves through tension, patience, and introspection.

At the core of his work lies a simple conviction: that everything begins in darkness, and with enough time, light will find its way in. This philosophy extends beyond his visual practice.

For decades, Nakci has also written poetry and short stories anonymously – an invisible parallel to his visual work, where thoughts take shape without identity and expression exists without recognition.

Alongside drawing and writing, his creative path has moved through photography and video, as well as almost a decade of work as a piercing and tattoo artist. These experiences continue to echo in his work – through precision, permanence, and an intimate relationship with the human mark.