Hakan Karakaya

Hakan Karakaya, who designs three-dimensional unique forms using different materials such as stone, metal, and wood through casting techniques, incorporates an attitude that questions perceptions rejected by the mind or confronts certain phenomena that individuals fear to face in their subconscious. Especially in his recent sculptures, he takes the viewer to such a subconscious realm that one might feel as if they are living in a dream or within the hallucination of reality. The artist refers to the fears suppressed in individuals' subconscious, the anxieties inherent in every person's being, the insecurities, and the sense of protection, incorporating a wide conceptual range from mythological characters found in Anatolian culture to the mystical illusions of sleep disorders such as sleep paralysis and nightmares known in medical literature. Therefore, his work draws inspiration from various sources, sometimes from stories found in fairy tales, sometimes from dreams, and sometimes from the stories behind mythological phenomena in Anatolian or Greek mythology. With this characteristic, it possesses a mystical aspect that takes the viewer on a spiritual journey.