The awe of virtually experiencing the vivid coloration of ancient Egyptian art and architecture almost made me upset that I was not aware of just how rich ancient artworks were. I aimed to recreate White Chapel from Karnak with similar vibrancy.
I took four hieroglyphs from the original White Chapel reliefs and recurring symbols from other ancient Egyptian architectural elements to recreate the vibrancy of the original pigments. To replicate the dimension of raised reliefs, a wooden base was first created then another layer of laser cut chipboard was added. The chipboard was painted with a limited color palette accordingly to the conventional colors of ancient Egyptian art: green, red, yellow, and blue.
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Relying on Prisse d’Avennes’s illustrated recordings of ancient Egyptian artwork, I replicated frieze detailing from the feather decorations and decorate dados from tombs. Papyrus was inspired by Theban paintings from private tombs, an offering table with lotus arrangement from the destroyed temple, and the sema-tawy from the royal throne found in private Theban tombs. To emphasize the lush colors and the aim to dedicate this object to well-wishing for my own “regeneration”, lotus and papyrus were used throughout the design.
Overall, the new designs include hieroglyphs that wish for life and stability, with a variety of other symbols wishing for unity and flourishing abundance in the future.
