A six-meter high artwork that took 9 days to create has been officially unveiled at the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London Live reports.
Inspired by the old testament story of Babel – and the tower built to heaven – Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad has explored his belief, that the story was the moment that mankind was divided on earth.
Mourad says of his chosen theme: “I have often thought of this story, as it is said to be a moment that divided mankind. I see it as a moment when diversity was created.”
“It can connect people who speak different languages and come from different cultural backgrounds. What Babel separated, visual art connects,” the artist said of his creature, according to Artlyst.
To create the work, Mourad spent the last week of June working in situ in London, collaborating with a group of local art students. The six-metre hanging sculpture consists of monotype printing on fabric, which was printed and cut with the help of his assistants.
Throughout this period, Mourad also allowed visitors to walk into the space and watch him as he worked, offering them the chance to see him at work, Harper’s Bazaar Art reports.
In addition to the wedding-cake-like monument to Babel, a number of monotype prints made during the creation process are also on display around the Ismaili Centre.
Displayed flat instead of in the round, viewers are able to view fragments of the larger tower, giving them the chance to decipher the imaginary civilisations printed across Mourad’s tower.
That piece is available to see during opening hours at the Ismaili Centre until the 15th of August.
Kevork was born in 1970 in Syria, studied in Aleppo, obtained his Masters of Fine Arts in Armenia and then moved to New York City.
