The Mysterious Cones of the Egyptian Desert Breath

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The Mysterious Cones of the Egyptian Desert

Image from Panoramio is by voutsen

Image from Wikipedia

On March 7, 1997, the construction of Desert Breath was completed.
At same moment the work was turned over to forces of nature to begin the
slow process of its absorption by the landscape.
The systematic documentation of this process is as important to Desert
Breath as the displacement of sand that was used to create it. The installation
becomes through its slow disintegration, instrument to measure the passage of time.


The Desert Breath, located in the Egyptian desert near Hurghada
on the Red Sea coast, is a double-spiral extra-large piece of art.


It was created by a group of three artists - Danae Stratou, Sculptor,
Alexandra Stratou, Industrial Designer, and Stella Constantinides,
architect. The work, completed on March 7, 1997, covers an area of
about 360 metres by 300 metres and consists of 89 protruding cones,
of gradually increasing size, set in a spiral and another 89
depressed (incised) cones set in a second spirals. At the centre
of these two spirals is a pair of two large cones with protruding
cone fitting inside the incised one. When filled with water,
it gives an impression of a micro island in a small circular lake.



The sand dug out from the depressed cones was used to create
the protruding cones. The artwork is subject to natural erosion
and in due course the area will revert to original desert plain.