NADA New York 2025

The Orbital Temples of Asdghamar is part of a series by Kafafian in their ongoing project, Portal Fire, which presents elements of the speculative world of Azadistan.

Images of hand-knotted rugs made in Armenia and Morocco were reimagined by Midjourney, which was prompted by the artist to translate these traditional pieces into depictions of future landscapes in Southwest Asia and North Africa. The resulting images are woven on a digital Jacquard loom.

The Orbital Temples of Asdghamar is based on an Armenian rug design.

Portal Fire is an iterative, living text blending Armenian spiritual tradition, practice and lore with expansive and ever-changing realities of its diaspora. It is a forthcoming graphic novel written in the narrative threads of costume, artifact, installation, performance and more.