Thirty-Six Chambers is one of four bespoke artworks commissioned for the 78-metre Feadship mega yacht Syzygy 818, later renamed Pi, which won Best Yacht at the Monaco Yacht Show 2019 upon its unveiling. Built by Feadship, with exterior design by Jarkko Jämsén and interior architecture by Sinot Yacht Design, the yacht’s owner granted Yahya complete creative freedom to conceive four major artworks for key spaces on board. Thirty-Six Chambers was designed as the focal artwork of the main dining room, positioned directly opposite the dining table and conceived to anchor the space both visually and philosophically.

The work explores the principles of Japanese calligraphy and the concept of Ikigai, a life worth living, through a layered sculptural composition. The background consists of an expansive engraved bronze surface inscribed with individual words representing foundational human virtues such as love, honesty, integrity, courage, and wisdom. These words are engraved by hand and patinated to a deep, dark tone, before being selectively scratched back to reveal the warm bronze beneath, allowing each virtue to glow subtly within the surface. Together, they form a contemplative field of language that operates as both text and texture.

Rising from this engraved ground are thirty-six sculptural elements, each corresponding to one of the engraved virtues beneath. These forms are hand-sawn from flat bronze, hammer-textured and engraved, then given sculptural volume by welding fine bronze strips around their contours to create a depth of approximately five centimetres. Entirely handmade, the work is patinated in graduated tones from dark to light, allowing reflections from overhead spot lighting to animate the surface. Although not internally illuminated, the piece floats slightly off the wall, with engraved and patinated sides reinforcing its presence as a complete, monolithic sculptural object.