Mert Akbal

Mert Akbal, born 1980 in Istanbul, is a visual artist and academician working in fields of interactive digital art and animation. Since 2008 he is a teaching research fellow and Ph.D. candidate at the Media Art and Design Department of the Academy of Fine Arts Saar in Saarbruecken, Germany and since 2016 working as a resarch assistant at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Since 2015 he is also an associated Ph.D. candidate at the Graduiertenkolleg „European Dream Cultures“ of University of Saarland. His artistic research focuses on “dreams”. He assumes the dream experience in sleep as an artistic activity. The reconstruction of dream reality in waking reality and the transfer of dream elements into waking reality is the main body of his research. 

Mert Akbal's works are presented in scientific and artistic platforms such as the “Regional Conference of International Association for the Study of Dreams 2012” at the University of Bern, the “International Forum on Psychomotoric, Performance and Interaction” in 2012 in Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, “Conference on Norbert Wiener in 21st Century” of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 2014 in Boston, USA and on the International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2016 in Hong Kong. 

His works are also shown in several other exhibitions and festivals like Max Ophuels Film Festival 2004 in Saarbruecken, at “State Art Exhibitions of Saarland” in 2008 and in 2013, at the National Theater of Bucharest in 2007, in Beijing Bienale 2010, on “Amber Art and Technology Festival 2012” in Istanbul and in 2013 in “Prix d’Art Robert Schuman”. Akbal won 2008 the luxembourgian Videoart Price “Octobre Rouge Mention Speciale”. 

Beside his artistic research, he is developing cultural and educational projects at the intersection of art and technology.