Woven Light

Studio Orta - 007_19
Studio Orta - 007_20
Studio Orta - 007_18
Studio Orta - 007_17
Studio Orta - 007_16

Date: 1995
Ref: 0007
Catalogued: Lucy + Jorge Orta. Light Works, Black Dog Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-907317-04-0
Exhibition history: Light based work on the Troglodyte villages of Cappadocia in Turkey
Courtesy: The Artists

The unique geological, historic and cultural features of the eroded pillars and minaret-like forms in Göreme were the source of inspiration for Woven Light. The soft volcanic deposits, dating back nine-million years have been carved out to form homes, churches and monasteries by a succession of inhabitants across the Cappadocia region. The reminders of the layers of civilisations in the carvings and frescoes inside the churches and chapels date back to the ninth century.

The artists reflect on the symbiosis between nature and man, in the strange landscape chiselled by both their complementary energies. The geometric symbols the artists chose to project onto the edifices and inside the caves are taken from the Turkish kilim carpet motifs and tapestry woven over centuries to reflect ancient cults and ancestral beliefs. Themes of life, birth, marriage and fertility; spiritual life and happiness; love and unison; and death, passed on across generations forming the history and layers of the Anatolian civilisations that have inhabited the troglodyte villages find themselves re-inscribed temporarily onto the surface and crevices of the dwellings.

Woven Light was commissioned by the UCPA (French Union of Outdoor Sports Centres) to mark their 60th anniversary.