SPOLIA 44 transcripts

This exhibition presents multi-layered paper squeezes by Nora Okka, depicting crosses, symbols of infinity and inscriptions of the Little Metropolis of Athens. At the core of her work is an innovative expansion of the epigrapher’s traditional “squeeze” technique, historically used to copy inscriptions for scholarly translation. She transforms this archival method into a multi-layered material process. Through successive paper impressions that capture relief sculpture in depth and texture, she merges inscription tracing with sculptural casting logic. Applied to the spolia of the Little Metropolis of Athens, this technique elevates fragments into dynamic, modular compositions. The resulting works can be rearranged, juxtaposed, and closely examined—allowing viewers to experience architectural memory as something tactile, living, and continually reconfigured.

Nora Okka is an architect and visual artist. She creates spaces and objects through which architectural and curatorial frameworks are reinterpreted. Her academic and creative research into the ancient practices and the contemporary legacies of spoliation, has resolved into a series of architectural projects and artworks that demonstrate and examine the concept of spolia as a micrographic constitution of architecture.

Presented by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, this exhibition is organized and initiated with the support of the Schwarz Foundation.

Location

Foyer der Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin

Jägerstraße 22-23, 10117 Berlin