Ancient Theater of Epidaurus scale 1:100. maquette. Cardboard, aluminium foil, plasticine, various papers, acrylic, coloured light.
“In due time all things will work out for the best.” Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, translated by Ian Johnston of Malaspina University-College.
Sounds crazy but according to what has occurred so far in my life, I acknowledge this to be true. Even at times when I thought the worst had happened, it always turned out to be for the best. Sometimes it takes time to see beyond the obvious. And it takes time to permit ourselves to expand. Expand our capabilities, our perception, our emotions.
There are many more thought-provoking phrases in Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex. It is a philosophical treatise disguised as a theatrical play. I read the text thoroughly back in 2014 when I had it as a scenography assignment by my professor Lily Pezanou at the Athens School of Fine Arts. The assignment was to make a proposal for the stage design, lighting and costumes for the ancient theatre of Epidaurus and rendered on a scale of 1:100. My inspiration for the scenography was drawn from a personal object reminiscent of a Greek 6th Century BC sculpture, which I made the focal point of the set. Depending on how it is lighted, it can look like a fragment of a face or of female genitalia. Throughout the play, the costume that Oedipus wears is a long red hooded cape. He lifts up the hood only in the final scene, after his self-blinding act. Without letting the audience see his face, which is concealed by the hood, the blind Oedipus approaches the sculpted wall, metamorphosing the stage into a symbolic eye that sheds tears of blood.
Add a Comment