«Longue durée»
Tower of the Winds, Roman Agora, Athens, 2022
The media intervention in the interior of the Tower of the Winds (or Horologion of Andronikos), at the archaeological site of the Roman Agora, Athens, uses the traces of the past, of different periods, to narrate its complex history and the coming together of different people and functions.
The work, which lasts six minutes, uses projection of animations and graphics in the interior space of the monument, combined with music, sound effects and narrative sections.
The title of our time-based media installation, ‘Longue Durée’, reflects the key concept for the digital content design, that of long duration, both in the sense that the monument has to do with thousands of years of history, and in the sense of slowing down the time of ‘reading’.
Key elements of the visual narrative
The idea that the primary means for ‘explaining’ the monument is to let it reveal itself was the starting point of the design process. A distinguishing feature of the installation is the careful alignment of the projection on the material traces from different periods, often overlaid on the physical fabric of the building. As for example,
-traces of pigment of ‘Egyptian blue’ on the surface of the ceiling which suggest that it depicted a starry sky
– the graffito on the wall representing a roman ship
-and the physical remains of a ‘mihrab’ niche, a prayer-niche carved in the wall,
which are emphasized by the digital projection.
The media intervention was designed with the aim of creating what John Falk and Lynn Dierking describe as an ‘educationally enjoyable experience’, enriching perception and understanding, and heightening the sense of being physically present in the interior space of the monument .
