Melek Zeynep Bulut, An Artist defying the norms
Melek Zeynep Bulut is a Turkish-born artist and architect whose work defies boundaries, blending architecture, visual arts, psychology, and sociology. Her creations fuse sculpture, sound, space, and human consciousness to explore abstract themes like time, power, and the human condition, transforming them into multi-sensory experiences. Bulut’s approach incorporates fractal geometry and the visualization of sound, pushing the limits of how one perceives space and abstract concepts. Born in Istanbul in 1989, she studied architecture, contemporary art, sculpture, and urban design alongside Fine Arts. Bulut has worked in Paris, London, Turkey, and Germany, and now operates her studio in both Istanbul and Paris. Influenced by Synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes sensory overlap, she experiences sounds as colors and textures as smells. This unique condition shapes her art, turning complex ideas into interactive, sensory experiences that invite viewers to physically engage with the intangible.
Design Ideology and Philosophy
Bulut’s works often address complex societal themes, such as human rights, migration, and the plight of refugees. She has a particular focus on the healing process of trauma and social wounds, especially in her home country, and aims to transform these wounds into sources of strength through art and science. One of her prominent projects, Irregular, created for the Directorate General of Migration Management in Istanbul, uses bird sound mechanisms to represent the voices of both migratory birds and displaced people. Bulut’s art is also deeply connected to the idea of reintegrating displaced children back into society, reflecting her ongoing work with refugee children at the Syrian border.
Her philosophy centers on a harmonious relationship between materials and their inherent properties. Whether working with wood, stone, or water, she believes that every material has its own “spirit” and chemistry, which guides its transformation. Bulut’s art practices an almost meditative dialogue with these materials, seeking to express their inherent qualities and transcend them into a form that communicates the existential experience of the human condition. Bulut’s work is a space of constant flux—blurring the lines between disciplines, ideas, and the very perception of reality. Her installations question and reframe boundaries, turning monumental, fixed structures into dynamic, interactive experiences that evolve with the viewer’s engagement.
Iconic Projects
Duo, London.
Melek Zeynep Bulut’s Duo, a striking installation at the 2024 London Design Festival, transforms the Painted Hall at Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College into an interactive, multi-sensory playground. Suspended as a minimalist rectangular prism, the piece evokes ancient architectural forms while boldly confronting the visitor with the concept of duality. Think inside and outside, light and dark, time and space—or simply two people engaged in conversation. These contrasts pulse through the installation, which relies on a sophisticated web of magnets, sensors, and acoustic reflectors that react to human presence. This isn’t just an art piece—it’s a living, breathing work of architecture that shifts, oscillates, and evolves with the people who engage with it.
“Duo” isn’t merely observed; it’s experienced, felt, and altered. Bulut invites viewers to step into the role of “game-changers,” making their movements the catalyst for the artwork’s rhythm and motion. The work blurs the lines between space and design, turning visitors into active participants. It’s a body, in a sense—responding, reacting, alive with energy, just like the human body itself, which Bulut compares it to. As someone who experiences synesthesia, Bulut’s work plays with this notion, blending sound, movement, and perception into a holistic, sensory journey.
The Painted Hall, with its Baroque paintings of kings, queens, and mythological figures, provides a dramatic backdrop for this modern installation. Bulut contrasts the weight of history with the lightness of Duo, suggesting that the installation is a “portal for dimensional transition,” a bridge between the old and the new. The grandeur of the setting serves as both a challenge and complement to the work, amplifying its quiet, transformative power. At its heart, Duo explores the delicate balance of opposing forces: center versus periphery, matter versus meaning, and even body versus soul. This is where Bulut’s work thrives—uniting these tensions, inviting one to see them not as opposites, but as parts of a continuum. Over 100 collaborators came together to realize Duo, underscoring Bulut’s belief in design’s ability to reshape how one experiences the world. Through this installation, Duo doesn’t just ask one to look—it demands one to feel, shift, and become part of the work itself.
Open Work, London
OpenWork is a monument that defies stillness, transforming into a dynamic, performative space that challenges one’s assumptions of rigidity and permanence. Awarded the Public Medal at the 2023 London Design Biennale, this installation prompts an interactive exploration of boundaries, power, and belonging. At first glance, it appears as a towering, unyielding structure—abstract gates and resonating surfaces that seem set in stone. But as visitors enter, the monument comes alive. Crafted from moving tubes, its surfaces respond to human touch and environmental forces like wind, reshaping and reconfiguring in real time. What starts as a monumental, fixed form evolves into a fluid, adaptable experience. The installation turns visitors from passive observers into active participants, where every movement alters the sound, shape, and rhythm of the space, creating a living dialogue between the human body and the architectural structure.
At its heart, OpenWork is a meditation on boundaries—personal, societal, and the delicate tension between the “one” and the “other.” It prompts a reconsideration of the structures that separate people, offering a subtle protest against the conventions that confine them. What starts as a monumental, seemingly untouchable form gradually becomes responsive, flexible, and open to interpretation. In this shift, OpenWork actively dismantles power dynamics and societal hierarchies, questioning their very foundations.
Blending architecture, sculpture, sound design, and engineering, the installation defies traditional boundaries, refusing to be confined by any single discipline. It functions as a portal—an invitation for reflection and interaction. OpenWork is not just art; it’s a living, evolving space that changes with each visitor. In this ongoing exchange, it becomes less a monument to the past and more a statement about the fluidity and limitless potential of the future.
To Conclude, one can say that Melek Zeynep Bulut’s work transcends traditional boundaries, merging architecture, art, and human experience into dynamic, interactive installations. Through projects like Duo and OpenWork, she challenges conventional perceptions of space, time, and power, transforming them into multi-sensory journeys. Her ability to merge abstract concepts with tangible, evolving art invites people to reconsider their relationship with the world around them. By constantly questioning and reshaping the structures that define society, Bulut’s art not only pushes the limits of design but also opens new possibilities for how people engage with and understand their environments.
Sources:
Melekzeynepstudio (no date) melekzeynepstudio. Available at: http://www.melekzeynep.com/ (Accessed: 15 December 2024).
Seref, S. (2020) Using neurological condition to gain perfection in art, Anadolu Ajansı. Available at: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/using-neurological-condition-to-gain-perfection-in-art/2081316 (Accessed: 15 December 2024).
Newsroom (2024) Turkish designer Melek Zeynep Bulut’s latest work to be exhibited in London, Türkiye Today. Available at: https://www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/turkish-designer-melek-zeynep-49111/ (Accessed: 15 December 2024).
Open work architectural pavilion by Melek Zeynep Bulut (2023) A’ Design Award. Available at: https://competition.adesignaward.com/design.php?ID=155818 (Accessed: 15 December 2024).
