This pilot film is inspired by a dream of the 17th century Ottoman Evliya Celebi, whose hunger for spiritual nourishment led him on a lifelong journey across the Ottoman Empire and beyond.

Travel may be considered a form of acquiring knowledge as well as an expression of spirituality, for example on a pilgrimage the unknown and ineffable are pursued with devotion. During the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, science and religion flourished together; the quests for truth and knowledge of the world were pursued on their own terms - often attained through observation of the patterns and laws of nature. Unlike our more secular times in the West, the relationship between learning and faith was strongly entwined. Hence Byzantine and Ottoman architecture expressed humanity’s desire to connect with and understand the universe.

In this film, Chan explores the typology of religious spaces in Istanbul, from the Privy Chamber in the Topkapi Palace Museum, where sacred relics are kept, to the Hagia Sofia, a Byzantine church that became a mosque in the Ottoman Empire and is now a museum. Filmed with timelapse photography on a motion control rig, light is captured moving across Iznik tiles. Domed ceilings spin, mimicking the movement of radio telescopes that observe our cosmos.

The avant-garde films of Nathaniel Dorsky explore the relationship between religion and cinema and he posits the idea that “the film itself is the spirit or experience of religion.” Like Dorsky, Chan is interested in the potential of film as a transformative medium. Her recent work investigates our relationship with monumental buildings on a physical and psychological level. This new film continues her exploration of the way we experience space and how architecture can become a projection for reverie and meditation.

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