Phrygia, one of the most important civilizations of Anatolia, has an extremely rich cultural heritage. When visiting archaeological sites, the historical context and aesthetic qualities of the artifacts unearthed as a result of excavations leave a remarkable impression on the viewers. In the artist's production process, the unique way of existence and cyclical continuity of nature in the protected area is as important a conceptual and visual reference as the archaeological finds. For example, the rocky regions neighboring the protected area, which carry the memory of the period, renew themselves over the centuries and continue their lives as a part of that geography. What allows this process to happen is that it is adjacent to immovable cultural assets, and thus nature gains a kind of immunity against human intervention. The distinct difference between the memory created by human hands and the memory carried by nature itself can be clearly read in such areas. The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between nature, cultural memory, and glass material in the context of the archaeological site in the Phrygian Valley through an experimental art practice. The artist reinterprets the historical and spatial memory carried by the natural formations observed in the site through glass. In the project, the artist created molds of the rocks and textures from the area, then shaped glass using these molds; during this process, they explored how glass relates to the ideas of memory and traces in a visual way. The outputs were exhibited in interaction with the audience, and the feedback was qualitatively evaluated. As a result, a conceptual approach has been developed for the reconstruction of natural memory through the transformable structure of glass.
Keywords: Glass art, plastic arts, glass fusion technique, cultural heritage