Melek Zeynep Bulut’s Installation Titled “Open Work” Has Won the Public Award!

Melek Zeynep Bulut’s performative and experimental spatial composition, “Open Work,” was featured at Somerset House during the London Design Biennale from June 1 to 25, 2023. Representing Turkey at the London Design Biennale, “Open Work,” an ironic monument, was selected among 47 countries and various universities, winning the Public Award.

“Open Work” is a performative space that revolves around the metaphors of thresholds and transformations, presenting theatrical transitions. It delves into the meanings of power, boundary establishment, and the representation of social hierarchy throughout human history. Through movable and sonorous surfaces that function like instruments, abstract doors and circulation plans interact with visitors, transforming them into an integral part of the installation.

Providing an experience through perception and matter, “Open Work” builds its foundations upon the concepts of doors, passages, and thresholds. The installation stands out with its monumental arrangement and scale, but as visitors engage with this experimental space, immutability gives way to silence and flexibility. Furthermore, the installation invites visitors to a playful realm that leaves a gentle question mark about the new world.

Rather than transforming into a set form, the installation avoids connecting the doors to form a wall or corridor, representing an open reception. Established forms throughout human history are engaged in a conversation with “Open Work.”

About Melek Zeynep Bulut:

Melek Zeynep Bulut’s works are a synthesis of architecture, sculpture, psychology, and behavioral sciences. Abstract and concrete experiences, sculpture-space, and space-instinctive experience analyses are processed in her artworks, which are placed in the public domain as objects of interaction and create scenes. She challenges visual perception in both physical and spiritual dimensions, offering an experience that represents a “new communication” for the new world, humanity, and society.

Born in 1989 in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, the artist completed her education in painting and sculpture, followed by undergraduate and graduate studies in architecture and design. She currently continues her production as a multidisciplinary studio in both Istanbul and Paris.