For those who have experienced this journey with me over the years, you know what I strive to create is first and foremost storytelling. The Anyma show is a science-fiction story about darkness and light, destruction and creation, fear and hope. Like many stories, it weaves through darker chapters before reaching resolution. Taking one scene from any film or work and presenting it out of context as the meaning of the entire project is fundamentally misleading. In my story, light ultimately prevails. For the past five years, my team and I have built and toured a visual universe in collaboration with artists, designers, and animators. We continuously reference the great classics, drawing inspiration from art history, mythology, and ancient literature. There are no direct representations of religious figures and there is no intention to attack or disrespect any religion or culture. Selected darker moments from our story and show were taken out of context, manipulated with AI, paired with other music and circulated online to manufacture a false sinister narrative that simply does not exist and does not reflect the show’s essence or intention. Let me be clear. None of my visuals are AI-generated and the greatest irony is that AI was used to alter my work by those who condemn it and they ultimately turned it into something to fit their own narrative. My art was turned into social media and political propaganda. What happened next is unacceptable…. Neither my team, the promoter, nor I received any meaningful warning or opportunity for dialogue before the show was cancelled. Nobody asked us to explain the work, provide context or discuss possible adaptations. We were and are ready to do so. We strongly reject the false religious and political meaning being attributed to this work. We have performed around the world and have always engaged in respectful conversation according to the local culture and customs. We would have willingly done the same in Türkiye, had legitimate concerns been raised through dialogue. We intend to appeal the decision and will continue trying to find a path back to Türkiye and to the Turkish people. Most importantly, thank you to the fans in and outside of Türkiye who bought tickets and were travelling to this beautiful country for this experience. Many of you who understand and welcome our art, your support and understanding means everything to me. Our channels remain open and we are willing to meet with the necessary authorities, explain our work, and provide its full artistic context. Art can be questioned, challenged and debated, but we ask it to be judged for what it actually is, not for what someone else can manipulate it to appear as. I hope we can come back and finish the story in Istanbul together. - Matteo