Exhibition in Nicosia-Cyprus
at E.KA.TE.
16-30 June 2017
Curated by the artist Katerina Neofytidou
My contribution is:
12 drawings, ink on paper, 25x25cm each, drawn from one of the sketch pads lying around in my living space, be it the studio or the house. They are concentration exercises executed in batches of usually 10 or 12. They materialize streams of thoughts and point at themes that could become a larger body of work.
The proposed batch revolves on the theme “the inside and the outside”.
The invitation text reads:
SMALL TREASURES
You are cordially invited to Small Treasures, an artists’ exhibition revolving around and exploring the notion of the artistic process, through small works of art.
The exhibition is scheduled to open on June16th and run through July 7th, 2017.
Inevitably, upon our entrance in the hidden chamber where the talisman (1) was set up, we found ourselves in a space full of diverse, compelling, and exquisite little gems. In the very depths of the chamber, a sitting old man was holding an emerald tablet. Looking closer at the gems, we were surprised to find out what they really were: small works of art, emphasizing process, small scale, experimentation and craze. Their essence was so soft, uncompounded and pure that ‘in what shape they choose, dilated or condensed, bright or obscure, can execute their airy purposes, and works of love or enmity fulfil.’ (2)
The Smaragdina in the possession of the elder, contained the secret of the Prima Materia and its transmutation, by the artist’s hand. Tantalizing and seducing our imagination, we decided to collect these jewels and exhibit them in an attempt to reveal the process of turning the “base metal”, into a conscious creator. In the beginning of this journey there is the death of the ego. The desirable destination is the ‘alchemy that transforms death drive into a start of life, of new significance’. (3)
1. Talisman – the word has Greek origin from the verb τελείν , which means I participate in the mysteries and the ceremony that were performed to create this special amulet.
2. Paradise Lost: Book 01 by John Milton.
3. Powers of Horror by Julia Kristeva
The first chapter includes:
1. Alex Welch
2. Andreas Tomblin
3. Koert Van Den Beukel (K_Van)
4. Sofia Kapnissi
5. Αnthi Pafiou
6. Elena Kouma
7. Efi Ioakim
8. Theodora Foutrou
9. Ioanna Chimona
10. Katerina Neofytidou
11. Maria Leonidou-Alexandra Pambouka
12. Machi Papadopoulou
13. Ourania Gabriel
14. Rebecca Efstathiou
15. Flora Marommati
16. Chara Stephanou
17. Christos Hadjistylianou
18. Liz Kuntz
