Cappadocia, in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, has been continuously inhabited since the Palaeolithic era. For millennia, residents carved their homes into the soft tuff stone – hardened volcanic ash from long-dormant volcanoes – that dips and swells along the arid valley, occasionally erupting into narrow towers known as fairy chimneys. The region exists as a natural sculpture park, with abstracted stone configuration dotting the landscape and remnants of civilisations buried within it.
It was this expressive, enchanting view that inspired Galerie Philia founder Ygaël Attali to base the third instalment of roving design residency Transhumances here (previous iterations touched down in Florence and the south of France). In November 2023, they gallery brought four designers – Andres Monnier, Morghen Studio, Laura Pasquino and Elsa Foulon – to live and work in Cappadocia for a week, ultimately creating new work that will be exhibited at the Taskonaklar hotel, where the residency took place (the exhibition runs from 15 February to 16 March 2024).
