Carolina Halatek Echo explores light, space and perception
Echo from Carolina Halateklocated within of Istanbul The famous Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), offers a somatoesthetic exploration of it lightspace and perception. Its open format allows visitors to enter the installation. They can pause and notice the relationship between their body and space. The shift in perspective, from an external, object-oriented perspective to an internal gaze, creates a new dimension, a new reality in which the viewer becomes the focal point. In the context of trauma work, body memory plays a crucial role. As Gabor Maté notes: “People who have experienced trauma often disconnect from their bodies because they are in pain. And yet, true healing requires reconnection with the body.’ Paying attention to psychosomatic sensations and recognizing them as important can be a powerful healing tool for accessing deep memories and areas that need healing.
Echo is installed inside the Ataturk Cultural Center of Istanbul | image by Karolina Halatek
Light, architecture and sculpture converge in the Echo installation
Following Rumi’s reasoning, “The wound is the place from which the light enters you.” The echo evokes a heightened awareness of presence and, like the quantum entanglement of photons, points to a parallel version of reality with infinite possibilities. Echo was exhibited during the Digital Art Festival Istanbul, June 3 to June 7, 2026. Karolina Halatek’s works are catalysts for experience. Using light as a central medium, the designer creates site-specific installations that incorporate visual, architectural and sculptural elements. He studied Design for Performance at UAL (UK), Fine Art at UdK Berlin and Media Art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland, and took part in Olafur Eliasson’s Institut für Raumexperimente. Halatek is a PhD candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and visiting researcher at the Lighting Lab, Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen.
the installation explores light, space and perception | image by Karolina Halatek
an open form invites visitors to enter | image of Ibrahim Boran
light determines the architectural presence of the installation | image of Ibrahim Boran
Echo is based on the concept of embedded memory | image by Karolina Halatek
circular geometry frames the immersive environment | image by Karolina Halatek
visual, architectural and sculptural elements merge into an installation | image by Karolina Halatek
project information:
name: Echo
artist: Karolina Halatek | @karolinahalatek
location: Istanbul, Turkey
venue: Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) | @akmistanbul
event: Digital Art Festival in Istanbul
photographers: Karolina Halatek, Ibrahim Boran
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edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
