Art and Heritage Online Database

Collection: Grays School of Art Collection
Object Type: video installation
Artist/Maker: Papatzanaki, Ioanna
Date: 2024
Media/Materials: 4 scrim panels, 2 digital video files and 4 metal rods.
Awards: RGU Drawing and Painting Purchase Award
Classification: Contemporary Art Practice

Description:

“In Light, On Light” - Ioanna Papatzanaki
Video and sound installation, two channels of colour video projections on scrims suspended from the ceiling, and two channels of amplified stereo sound. 310 x 500 x 240 cm.


Ioanna Papatzanaki is a multimedia contemporary artist whose work draws inspiration from the intimate connection that can be found between the Islamic faith and nature.

This work presents an immersive five-part installation. Through layering projections onto fabric scrims with echoes of prayer word recitations, this piece explores the spiritual significance of the natural phenomena that can be noticed during the times of the five daily prayer times. Fajr at the time of dawn, Dhuhr when the sun reaches its peak, Asr in the late part of the afternoon, Maghrib at sunset, and Isha at complete nightfall.

The audio is a repetition of the first chapter of the Quran “Surah Al-Fatiha”, in its original language of Arabic and the English translation in the artist’s voice. These verses are recited during each prayer, and they begin with praising God through the phrase Alhamdulillah, stating that it is He who has full authority over all of creation. These segmented visuals come together as a symphony of different colours and patterns to showcase some of the signs of the infinite Divine Power that exist all around us.

Object Number: ABDRG2024.6