Architecture IV redefines Petra Treasury architecture photography by filtering the iconic Nabataean façade through chemical decomposition and chromatic intervention. The rose-red sandstone monument — carved over two millennia ago — emerges through layers of photographic decay that echo the desert’s own erosive force. Sükan’s color additions introduce a deliberate temporal tension: a 19th century black-and-white document reimagined through contemporary pigment, transforming archaeological record into atmospheric, almost surreal presence. The familiar world wonder becomes unstable, suspended between preservation and dissolution.
 
Dis(This) appearance Series. Memory and transformation converge in the latest work of Turkish artist Arslan Sükan. The artist rescued archival photographs from the 19th century (1890-1920), distorted by chemical decomposition, and now available again thanks to preservation and his digital intervision through his  exquisite gaze.. The past has been rediscovered, allowing fragments of it to resonate in the present. Sükan's recovery of these photographs results in a visual resurrection that perpetuates fleeting memories of the past, challenging the fragility of collective memory. The impermanence of life is represented through the tension between deterioration and restoration in these images.
Sükan's work ensures that these forgotten photographs do not disappear into oblivion, but remain alive, preserving public memory and welcoming a shared journey through time. New narratives are forged when past and present merge, with the presence and absence of decay and rebirth coexisting in a delicate balance.
Through his images, the artist ensures that historical moments do not fade into obscurity, but rather endure through a shared experience with the viewer. These photographs become a medium for past lives and stories to intersect with our present consciousness, leading us to reflect on the permanence of memory and its role in shaping our identities.
 
This Petra Treasury architecture photography offers collectors a rare reinterpretation of one of the world’s most iconic monuments. A 19th century document transformed through chemical decay and contemporary color intervention. From the Dis(This) appearance series. Available at The Art Design Project, Miami Beach.
 
More Sizes and Editions:
Small size: 50 H x 75 W cm. Edition 3 + 1AP 
Large size: 100 H x 130 W cm. Edition 3 + 1AP