London - Arab Today
Warped Window
Church of St. Martin in the Fields, from Trafalgar Square, London, is the home of a surprising abstract design, distinctive to the area that abruptly warps a large church window into a visually peculiar model. In charge of the project was the talented
visual artist, Shirazeh Houshiary, born in Shiraz, Iran. Recalling a cross, both the horizontal and vertical lines seem to be endlessly moving towards a median aperture that allows the sun to illuminate the interior. With its network like concept, it reunites elements from religion with the intricate construction aiming to form a monochrome, one-of-a-kind spectacle, to celebrate light. Every evening the ellipse is insidiously lit and increases with the fading light creating a strong visual effect seen both inside and out.
The richness of natural light insinuated through the etched glass and steel fret work gave the project light with the sole purpose to permanently replace a window shattered by bombs during World War II, to “successfully animate the light”. When speaking about her work, Houshiary explains:“the universe is in a process of disintegration. Everything is in a state of erosion, and yet we try to stabilise it. This tension fascinates me and it’s at the core of my work.”
Source: Freshome