Subject + Object No.9 — Umut Erkin

Lives in Cologne and Istanbul. Works as an Industrial Designer & Visual Director. Someone who operates across objects, spaces, images, and stories, establishing connections between seemingly different worlds. Living with an analog mind in a digital world, he creates work across various scales spanning from research to production, and from physical objects to visual narratives and experiences.

Object:

What is the meaning of an object to you? When do you think an object stops being "a thing" and starts carrying "meaning"?

Umut:

I cannot think of an object on its own; when placed somewhere it changes space, when used by someone it changes behavior. What's truly interesting is that the moment it passes to the user, control is somewhat lost: a pan can turn into a protest tool, safety goggles into a fashion icon, or 90s Pikachu into a form of representation years later. I call this "adaptation without permission." As an object makes contact with humans, it establishes its own context, and what was designed and what was lived begin to separate from each other.

...safety goggles into a fashion icon, or 90s Pikachu into a form of representation years later.

Object:

Do you believe that items have a memory?

Umut:

I don't believe they have memories of their own, but rather that they are physical triggers of memory. A scratch, faded fabric, wood polished by touch, a loose hinge… All of these are like accumulated data on the object. You don't know exactly what happened, but you know that something did.

Object:

Has an object ever left a strong emotional or creative impact on you? A moment when an "item" transformed you?

Umut:

A camera. But more than the camera itself, the idea of the frame. When you look through the viewfinder, you realize what you include and what you leave out, and after a while, you start looking at the world that way too. The viewfinder taught me that both seeing and designing are choices.

Object:

If you wanted to describe your life with a single object, which object would that be — and why?

Umut:

A backpack. Because, just like life, its contents are constantly changing; some things arrive, stay with you for a while, then leave, and new ones take their place. Cities, pursuits, people, equipment change, but the bag continues on its journey, and traces of certain things remain inside. Mine wouldn't be a brand-new, perfect bag; it would be one that is a bit worn, has seen many places, and whose contents have changed countlessly. A bit of life, a bit of Tetris…

Object:

In a universe with an unlimited budget, which object would you most like to own and why?

Umut:

Singer 911. Because to me, the interesting part isn't just that it's expensive or fast; it's the way an old object is reinterpreted with today's knowledge without killing its character. They know very well what to preserve, what to change, and what not to touch at all. They bring the past into today without cosplay-ing it.

Object:

Is there any object you collect as a collection item?

Umut:

I don't collect just one single thing; rather, I accumulate invisible connections between books, cameras, maps, technical objects, and items left behind from journeys. Over time, orange also turned into a personal code among them. I suppose I collect references rather than objects; like a physical mood board.