When I started Echoes of Light, I didn’t set out to make “a piece of art.” I wanted to make a living space — one that would respond to the people inside it like a body reacts to a pulse.

I used to think I’d end up in a “normal” job. In college, I studied architecture because it felt safe — a creative path with a clear career ladder. I pictured myself in a firm, working late over floor plans, arguing over budgets. It wasn’t thrilling, but it was respectable.

When UNESCO approached me about creating a piece for their language preservation initiative, my first reaction was excitement. My second was fear.