Biography

Born in Istanbul in 1975, Ani Haddeler studied Theater and Acting. She worked for many years as a coordinator for international festivals and cultural organizations, as well as an actress, translator, and assistant director in various private theaters. She taught drama in schools and alongside translating plays, translated essays and novels for several publishing houses.

Between 2017 and 2025, she lived in Bodrum, where she focused on crafting wooden puppets and sculptures. During this period, she founded Anuşka’nın Atölyesi, bringing adapted stories together with her own custom-designed puppets to create live performances and online videos for both children and adults. Today, Anuşka’nın Atölyesi continues its artistic output under the sub-categories of puppetry, shadow arts and theater.

Drawing deeply from her background in theater, Ani Haddeler builds her forms around movement, joints, and narrative. These articulated figures transform at times into shadow theater puppets and at other times into stop-motion characters.

Artist Statement

The experience I gained in theatre- specifically in dramaturgy, mechanical movement and character construction transforms into a physical expression of form and narrative in my wooden sculptures. Drawing energy from the contrast between raw textures and sharp lines, my figures are sometimes inspired by the articulated structure of shadow theater and traditional Karagöz characters, and at other times transform into stop-motion figures.

None of them are static objects; with poses ready to spring into motion at any moment, they invite the viewer into a potential scene and a confrontation with the character’s inner world.