Emptiness as Cultural Resonance: Spatial Design between Heritage and Perception - an artistic approach through photography and sculpting

This paper examines emptiness as an active medium of cultural resonance through
the complementary practices of sculpture and photography. Drawing on Heidegger's concept of the vessel's ontological significance and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception, I argue that cultural heritage resides not in material forms alone, but in the dynamic interplay between form and void. The ceramic vessel's emptiness—its capacity to both receive and retain—becomes a metaphor for how architectural and artistic spaces preserve identity while remaining open to reinterpretation. Through photographic explorations of thresholds and sculptural engagements with containment, I demonstrate how boundaries function as permeable sites of cultural exchange. The study further extends these principles into design pedagogy, proposing methods where craft, photography, and digital technologies cultivate awareness of emptiness as a "resonance space."
Ultimately, this work suggests that thoughtful engagement with void spaces—whether physical, photographic, or virtual—offers a vital approach to maintaining cultural vitality in our globalized world.