An Anoxic Time Capsule of Fairytales
It is impossible to choose to devote a segment of one's life to researching anything related to the Black Sea region without also committing to learning about the geopolitical complexity of such a nuanced and multifaceted web. Even without considering the political or cultural realms of the region the physics combined with geography of the sea is nuanced and complex. The deep waters of the Black Sea are one of the most unusual marine environments on Earth because they are permanently anoxic – meaning they contain no dissolved oxygen. The reason this happens is because lighter freshwater stays on top of denser salty water, preventing mixing, so oxygen can’t reach the depths and bacteria use up what’s there. This leaves the deep layers permanently anoxic and filled with hydrogen sulfide. In simple terms, the Black Sea is like a two-story ocean in which the top layer is alive and oxygenated, while the bottom layer is dark, toxic and chemically alien.
One impact of this anoxic chemistry is that the sea itself acts as a time capsule. Shipwrecks and organic materials don’t decay normally, which has resulted in ancient ships being found remarkably intact thousands of years later.
Photo by Mano Svanidze
Having spent a considerable amount of time traveling in the regions around the sea, my opinion is that this time capsule capability impacts the Earth which surrounds the Black Sea as well. The beauty I’ve seen in proximity to the sea is a beauty which has taken my breath away, and left me feeling as if I am without oxygen. It is a beauty that extends beyond textile, history, culture, love, courage and even the beautiful people who give new energy to the life of this tapestry. Yet without all these components this beauty could not exist – so they are woven together, completing this tactile capsule of energy that allows tradition to continue to live and exist as not just a component of heritage, but also something in the blood.
Photo by Mano Svandize
I am constantly amazed that some of the most beholden treasures I find are often in places where historically the people have had to struggle the most for their sovereignty and hide their identity from the oppressor for periods in order to preserve their culture. In this way textile has been a valuable method for people to use as a way to express their roots and identity. A cultural language that exists through stitches and symbolism — only the makers, the wearers and their kin can transcribe it.
There is magic in the beauty of a secret language – I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the past years of my life learning to understand this translation. The threads have led me through the portals of ruins to the wisdom charged eyes of strangers in cities and villages all around this sea and into the fibers beyond, tracing from Albania to Uzbekistan. I have learned the most beautiful lessons from strangers who use their hands to leave their beautiful stories upon cloth, woven through carpets and hidden their souls in the symbology of adorning charms. To understand how to read between the lines and decipher the words of the threads exposes the beauty of a secret language. When you reveal the stitches of this language, you are also obtaining one of the keys that will unlock the portals to the poetic fairytale world of Black Sea Textiles. Let me show you the way.
A time capsule…
Follow me through the portals of the Black Sea into a tactile web of untold textile fairytales, transcribed through stories of cloth, and the poetic fingertips of their makers.
