Tactile Experiments: Carved Stone Studies | Kemal Şayli

A material-focused series exploring how carved stone can evoke softness, memory and touch through surface alone. Rather than approaching marble as a static material, the project investigates how texture can alter its character and create a more sensory relationship between surface, light and viewer.

The first study is inspired by Naguri, a traditional Japanese woodworking approach in which timber surfaces are shaped through rhythmic chisel and adze marks. Rather than reproducing a specific Naguri pattern, the study translates its repeated cuts, directional rhythm and handcrafted depth into carved stone. The result creates a tension between the visual language of timber craft and the permanence of marble.

The second study draws from the irregular patterning of leopard skin. Its spotted rhythm is abstracted into a carved relief, creating a surface that feels more organic and instinctive than geometric. The reference is deliberately transformed rather than copied, allowing the texture to operate as an autonomous stone surface.

Together, the two pieces explore how references from different materials and natural patterns can be reinterpreted through carving. The project is more about material inquiry—using relief, repetition and tactile suggestion to test how marble can carry visual memory beyond its conventional architectural role.

available at Mermone Stone