Istanbul is a city that never sleeps. It is like a living organism connecting the two different worlds, the East and the West. It has its own addictive and chaotic vibe. As a result of its geographical, social, cultural and religious properties, Istanbul has a unique soundscape. But most importantly, what makes it, are the people living in. The installation needs at least one person’s heartbeat to start “living”. The heartbeats are used to trigger or manipulate the sounds of Istanbul.

Istanbul is a city of integration. If you look at the different parts of the city, you would see that even if some elements are more dominant than the others, they are indistinguishable, which is also reflected to the recordings. The recordings are classified into three different groups (bazaar, traffic and music), and assigned to different chairs. The installation is exhibited in an isolated area, to enhance the auditory perception.

Exhibited at Bodig’09 Bodies of Synthesis and Playface Intercult.

LivingIstanbul from Osman Koç on Vimeo.