‘The Recursion Project: Levh-i Mahfuz,' sponsored by KUME Foundation, will be on view at Gallery 1, Somerset House, London until June 29
Turkish artist and designer Melek Zeynep Bulut has been invited to present a solo installation at the 5th edition of the London Design Biennale, which is taking place from June 5-29 at Somerset House.
Sponsored by the Culture and Heritage Foundation (KUME), “The Recursion Project: Levh-i Mahfuz” will be on view at Gallery 1 throughout the biennale.
According to KUME, The Recursion Project approaches the concept of repetition as an instrument that shapes the relationship between collective memory, matter and form.
Bulut explores, in a playful manner, what constitutes form, the act of going beyond the surface, and the possibilities of interaction with a new dimension by transcending matter.
Central to the installation is Bulut's curatorial reference to the Tesseract Cube: a calculation used in physics to go beyond matter to conceptualize four-dimensional space.
Suspended in mid-air is a cubic constellation of smaller cubes, handcrafted from Turkish terracotta clay and mirrored on two sides. This recursive structure serves as both form and metaphor: an object that contains itself, infinitely.
Melek, referencing Kafka's Metamorphosis, places the installation in the center of the room at an absurd scale and creates a face-to-face encounter with the visitor. She transforms the installation space into an otherworldly environment: a place where familiar forms mutate and dissolve. The cube, in this context, becomes a chamber of metamorphosis, turning the room itself into a vessel for transformation. This is a distinct intervention, transporting visitors from a physical dimension to a metaphysical space.
The use of terracotta, a primal and elemental material, anchors the experience in a shared human memory. Its warmth and earthiness contrast with the reflective surfaces, evoking a tension between the tactile and the intangible. Crafted from soil gathered across various regions of Türkiye and composed of individually handmade reflective fragments, the installation initiates a loop of self-repetition. It becomes a representation of a cycle that embodies both collective memory and perception.
The Recursion Project: Levh-i Mahfuz is on display at Gallery 1, Somerset House, London, through June 29 as part of the London Design Biennale.
