Happy State
Collage and mixed media on canvas.
Dimensions: 200cm x 150cm
Materials used: glue, photocopies, acrylic paints, fixative, transparent water varnish, turpentine varnish, markers.
Year of production: 2008
Photocopies are based on photographs the 1950s of:
Werner Bischof (taken in China), Rene Burri (taken in Spain), Raymond Cauchetier (taken in Viet-Nam), Gerhard Krogh (taken in Algeria), Werner Lüthy (taken in Morocco), Hanns Reich (taken in South Africa and Yugoslavia), George Rodger (taken in Liberia), Max Scheler (taken in Congo), Georg Silk (taken in China).
A series of large-scale paintings, part of my first solo exhibition at the Astrolavos - Dexameni Gallery in Athens in November 2008.
The exhibition was divided into two parts that came in parallel and contradiction. The first one was of large-scale paintings, and the second one was of small scale mixed media collages on canvas regardings children's playing, toys but also the bittersweet situations from which children are called to tremain untouched. The exhibition raises to the viewer questions as: "What are the dreams of a child who lacks food and drinking water and what are the dream of a child of the so-called developed world?" but also "Do children stop dreaming?", "Do we, adults understand the power of the dream?"
