LONDON.- Located in Upper-Mesopotamia, roughly 20 kilometres from the present-day border with Syria, Harran lies at the heart of where mankind first bonded in settlement. Archaeological remains – such as those at the site of Göbekli Tepe very close by – demonstrate the earliest signs of civilisation as we know it: where the cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals first came into practice and the first connections between religion and architecture were formed. The city, populated by the Sabians—a community of star worshippers, was a vital trading post in the ancient world. Its geographical location provides an outstanding view of the constellation of Orion. Constructed here were the world’s first observatory and university, of which the great archway still stands today. Much later, in the 9th century AD, Harran was the leading city within the Arabic world for the production of celestial globes.
Working with Japanese architect Mitsunori Sano, Comte will chisel an initial series of five (potentially seventeen) circular excavations ranging from 20 to 25 metres in width and a minimum of three metres in depth into the desert ground and covering an area of over 120 kilometres. The scale and position of each circle will mirror the formation of Orion in the night sky, especially visible in the months of February and March. Each evening as the sun goes down and until the moon is visible, the outline of each circle will be gradually lit, forming a connection between the knowledge of the ancient Sabian star worshippers and technology today.
“Appreciating this work will require commitment in the strict sense of the word: ‘The Centre of the World’ is not at first easily visible, plus it is located far from the beaten track, in a site loaded with history extending from the beginning of civilisation to the current time. People first have to make their way here and then they have to experience it at different moments of the day in order to fully appreciate all the variations that light and shadow will create.” Michel Comte
Comte chose to work in Harran because of its multilayered historical, societal and religious legacy in combination with the complex socio-political reality of today. His aim is to build a bridge between the ancient and the new, as Comte notes, “a road to peace”.
Comte’s commitment to socially-orientated projects started over thirty years ago. In 1994–95 he worked to support the building of an orthopaedic hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, travelling there many times over the year. Similar projects followed, including auctions to raise money for the International Committee of the Red Cross and organisations alike worldwide. Throughout his years as a fashion photographer he worked on photo assignments from the International Red Cross in war-ravaged regions including Bosnia, Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia. Comte’s book People and Places with no Name, published by Steidl records much of what he saw during these years. During the Gulf War he went twice to Iraq and also worked in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Syria.
