The Oriēns Story
In 2018, before covid grounded the world to their rooms, I had the opportunity to visit turkey - getting lost in bustling cities, explore incredible historical sites and soak in the people’s warm hospitality.
I mostly enjoyed discovering her colourful history painted everywhere - on the walls of mosques, to rugs and everyday tools like cutlery.
It is not uncommon to be invited for a cup of turkish tea - an offer I can’t and don’t want to refuse :)
One of these tea invitations was a lovely encounter with a weaver and university professor (pictured). We exchanged travel stories, and he showed me the piece of textile he was working on, while explaining that the motifs and the way they are designed tell the weaver’s story.
This series is inspired from this encounter, Anatolia and its adjacent regions (a major part of modern Turkey), and Central Asia's nomadic people.
Each motif symbolizes different things; I imagine that the person using the book will also carry a portion of that where ever they go.