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PORTAL 2003 Green Hammamat Breccia In my quest for rare stones for a project to produce a sculpture for the new Opera House in Cairo I visited the ancient quarries of Waddi Hammamat whose breccia has been prized for so long that these are, perhaps, the oldest decorative stone quarries in the world. Inscriptions on the walls refer to expeditions sent by pre-dynastic Kings and Pharaohs, Xerxes and Darius of Persia, as well as Philip of Macedonia. Portal is like narthex arch, an entrance to the exhibition taking us into a place of contemplation and peace. Polished on one side the green breccia leads us into the meadow behind; the other, cut by diamond wire and unpolished, blends with the sky and initiates the contrast between the mineral and organic which is present throughout the exhibition. © Stephen Cox 2006
