Aqua Memoria At Fabrica Hill

Published 21st of October, 2025

Unravel, Thekla Papadopoulou

aqua-memoria-at-fabrica-hill_36

This is the final piece, which we had a glimpse of earlier.

More Information

aqua-memoria-at-fabrica-hill_37

This is part of the information page. There is more so scan the code with a phone to read it:


At the heart of the galleries carved into the limestone of Fabrika Hill, Thekla Papadopoulou's Unravel offers a sensory archaeology. The work unfurls a long blue fabric that follows the crevices like a reimagined stream. Carried by an aquatic soundscape, the textile does not "depict" water: it reactivates its memory - its sediments, like the visible traces of "humus" on the surrounding rock, and the forgotten coolness of a subterranean presence.

The choice of fabric is directly rooted in the history of the site, whose toponym "Fabrica" (factory / workshop), attested since 1815, is directly linked to the presence of a production facility (for cotton, sugar, potassium nitrate, or salt), probably established under the Lusignans or the Ottomans. The fabric used by the artist thus refers to the site's productive vocation during the medieval period, itself an heir to a landscape already shaped by extraction in antiquity. The use of textile material evokes this memory of the workshop while extending - through a supple, capillary substance - the hydraulic logic that has structured the site since Antiquity: carved channels, rock-cut corridors, cisterns, and the nearby nymphaeum associated with the theatre. Here, the fabric behaves like a possible water - it insinuates, embraces, filters, and channels.

Audio?

aqua-memoria-at-fabrica-hill_38

The information hinted at an auditory element to the art, but I didn't hear anything. Perhaps I misunderstood?

Paphos Walkway

aqua-memoria-at-fabrica-hill_39

That was the final exhibit. But if you are visiting, do make a point of walking along the lovely walkway that links the hill to the Archaeological Park. It gives some very nice views and overlooks some of the emerging history of the site.

Roundabout View

aqua-memoria-at-fabrica-hill_40

You may well have sat in one of the Mall's coffee shops and looked out over the Roundabout to the mysterious rocks of Fabrica Hill. Do yourself a favour and go and take a proper look, especially while there is an art exhibition there to tempt you over.

Page 8 of 8

If you like our blogs and the rest of our content, please consider slinging us a few euros to help us produce more content. Use the Coffee link below if you feel so inclined. Payments are taken on a secure gateway, with no contact!

Related Blogs:

Let's Take a Look At Fabrica Hill

We've driven past Fabrica Hill many times over the years, and often wondered what was up there. (It's the area of land diagonally opposite The Mall, in case you didn't know). After comments and photos started appearing on the forum about the erection of a raised walkway, we decided a visit was overdue. With no expectations of what we would see when we got there, other than a vague feeling of disappointment that despite what it looked like, they weren't building a roller coaster, this is what we found.

Fabrica Hill in 2023

A few years ago we took you on a tour around Fabrica Hill. As it is an Archaeological Site you could be forgiven for thinking that it hasn't changed in that time, but you would be wrong. There is still plenty of Archaeology waiting to be discovered there, and every year there are new digs. So how have things changed since we were last there?

Latest Blog Articles

Latest News Articles