Aesthetic Primitive — Erin Nicole Power Printmaking

Carved Interiors and Embodied Shelter

Carved Interiors and Embodied Shelter emerged from drawings made during a residency in Cappadocia, Türkiye, where I worked inside ancient, hand-carved cave dwellings. I became interested in the sensation of being held within these spaces: their curved walls, rounded doorways, and softened transitions created an intimate sense of warmth and containment, in contrast to the rigid geometries of contemporary architecture.

The series explores the visual and bodily logic of these interiors. Carved through repeated human gestures, their organic forms suggested a connection between architecture, the body, and natural patterns. This led me to ideas from neurological and primitive aesthetics, particularly the recurring human attraction to curved, organic forms.

The work also considers the relationship between Cappadocia's exterior landscape and its interiors. While wind and water eroded the rock formations outward, humans shaped the caves inward through deliberate acts of carving. This tension between erosion and carving, exterior and interior, became central to the paintings, which use layered surfaces and softened forms to evoke spaces shaped by touch, time, and embodied experience.

The series was developed from field research conducted in Uçhisar, Cappadocia, in November 2024 during the A.R.C. Residency at Taşkonaklar Hotel. Selected works were exhibited at Ambidexter Gallery, Istanbul, in January 2026.