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Türkiye Pavilion at London Design Biennale 2025
June 5 @ 8:00 am - June 29 @ 5:00 pm
Türkiye at London Design Biennale 2025: Halise Karakaya Unveils a Sensory Tribute to the Spirit of Istanbul
The Türkiye Pavilion opens at London Design Biennale 2025, inviting visitors to explore the emotional and sensory layers of Istanbul through a captivating new installation by interdisciplinary artist Halise Karakaya. Titled Emotional Reflections: The Soul of Seven Horizons, the work will remain open to the public at Somerset House from 5–29 June 2025.
Inspired by Istanbul’s iconic seven hills, the installation combines sculptural forms, scent, light, and sound to construct an atmosphere rooted in memory and perception. Seven aluminium forms, CNC-cut and layered above beds of Turkish coffee grounds, offer a tactile and olfactory entry point into the city’s cultural resonance. Suspended above, fifteen sculptural pieces crafted from Karakaya’s proprietary material formula respond to an ambient soundscape of the Bosphorus—ferry horns, gulls, and waves—via a responsive lighting system that activates different layers depending on the intensity of sound, creating a constantly shifting environment.
The project is curated by Alinda Kring, a London-based curator and art advisor known for her cross-cultural approach to contemporary and classical art. Karakaya led the creative direction, working in collaboration with designers Ceren Müftüoğlu, Karina Tertychnya, and Zeynep Yeşildağ, while the immersive sound experience was developed by audio engineer Fırat Özer.
The Türkiye Pavilion is realised through the collaboration of Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London, the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism – London Office, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICVB), and Gilan Istanbul. With over a decade of cultural engagement in the UK, Yunus Emre Institute – London continues to support initiatives that amplify Türkiye’s creative presence on international platforms.
This installation also marks the beginning of a new creative partnership between Karakaya and Gilan Istanbul, merging sculptural vision with artisanal elegance. Future projects are expected to expand this dialogue between contemporary form and heritage craft.
Open throughout the duration of the Biennale, the Türkiye Pavilion offers a space where Istanbul is not simply observed—but remembered, felt, and reimagined through the senses.