A HOME FOR FISH FROM THE MUD OF THE GULF

• With an artificial reef project implemented by Kocaeli University, homes for fish have been created from the bottom mud of the gulf. The ceramic artificial reefs, prepared within the scope of the "Edge Effect – Art-Based Ecological Restoration on the Değirmendere Coastal Interface" project, have been placed in the Gulf of Izmit.

Within the scope of the “Edge Impact” project, carried out in partnership with Kocaeli University (KOU), Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, and Gölcük Değirmendere Underwater Community Sports Club (DESSAT), efforts are underway to clean, protect, and support marine biodiversity in the Izmit Gulf.

• 

• 

Under the leadership of Kocaeli University Faculty of Fine Arts, and within the scope of the Kocaeli University BAP Marmara Sea and Sustainable Life Research Projects Support Program, a workshop was held in the open-air workshop area on the Değirmendere coast between September 7-20, 2026, as part of the “Edge Effect – Art-Based Ecological Restoration on the Değirmendere Coastal Interface” project.

• 

• 

Özlem Özer Tuğal Nermin Demirkol

Selim Çınar

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nermin Demirkol from the Ceramics Department of KOU Faculty of Fine Arts is managing the processes of transforming the difficult-to-dispose-of bottom mud extracted from the Izmit Gulf into durable ceramic reefs. Demirkol studied the chemical properties of this mud and developed ceramic recipes with different ratios, producing reefs with materials containing up to 65% bottom mud. At the Edge Effect workshop, ceramic artists such as Özlem Özer Tuğal (Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa) and Selim Çınar (Selçuk University Faculty of Fine Arts Ceramics Department), students, and volunteers produced reefs from the special clay developed by Nermin Demirkol. These artificial reefs were then placed on the seabed by DESSAT divers on September 19th to provide habitats for marine life.

• 

• 

The aim is for ceramic reefs to create new microhabitats where marine life can attach and thrive, while the biological colonization, species diversity, and abundance of life in the reefs will be scientifically monitored in the coming period.

By combining scientific approaches to the improvement of aquatic ecosystems with contemporary ceramic and installation art, the project makes visible the transformative role of art in raising awareness about environmental problems, thus providing a new perspective to ecological restoration efforts.