ΚΑΛΟΨΙΑ COLLECTION
Είδωλον
Eidolon depicts a three-quarter portrait of a woman gazing abstractly into the distance, her face and body guided by five hands that attempt to direct her attention, while a golden halo frames her figure. The work explores the duality between an inner, authentic self—represented by the charcoal drawing in stark black and white—and an external identity shaped by social expectations, represented by the overlaid woodblock patterns. The halo, traditionally associated with purity and veneration in Byzantine iconography, is recontextualized here to elevate an imperfect, evolving individual who is continually struggling to become the best version of herself. The multitude of eyes surrounding the figure symbolizes the constant scrutiny and judgment of others, and the pressure to conform to different social environments, which can gradually obscure our authenticity and sense of individuality. Ultimately, the work poses a fundamental question of self-determination: what is truly our own choice, and what has been shaped by others?
Εντελέχεια
Entelechy is inspired by the ancient Greek conception of an ideal balance between soul and mind, drawing on Aristotle’s understanding of the soul and intellect as the entelechy of the body: the mind associated with reason and creativity, and the soul, conventionally identified with the heart, as the source of emotion. The composition presents a three-quarter portrait of a woman looking directly at the viewer, with the heart and mind personified as two female figures positioned within their corresponding anatomical locations and holding onto one another with outstretched hands. The Mind is depicted in a dynamically contracted pose echoing the form of the brain, with a strong, muscular body signifying intellectual power, while the Heart embodies sensual femininity, tenderness, and emotionality. Their interconnected alignment at the centre of the composition symbolizes their inseparable relationship as the central axis of human existence, reinforced by the recurring red pigment, which evokes both the body and blood as well as passion and emotion. The monumental female figure is partially rendered in charcoal, while a floral woodblock-printed surface covers selected areas of the face, neck, and shoulders, metaphorically representing the unfolding of each individual toward fulfilment under the combined influence of inherent characteristics, circumstances, and external forces.
Αλίμορφη
Alimorfi depicts a frontal portrait of a woman meeting the viewer’s gaze directly, her composed expression and outward calm contrasting sharply with the turmoil concealed beneath her seemingly untroubled surface. Partially rendered in charcoal, the figure’s inner world is revealed through a woodblock-printed pattern of turbulent waves, metaphorically representing anger, disappointment, chaos, and confusion. Soft blue tones scattered throughout the waves echo the vivid blue of her eye, while the stylized contours create a continuous visual movement that draws the viewer’s gaze from her head toward her neck. Hidden beneath the suprasternal notch, a small, submerged figure—an internal reflection of the protagonist—struggles against the waves and slowly drowns. The work explores the moments when we conceal our anxieties and difficulties rather than expressing or sharing them, maintaining an outward appearance of composure while quietly struggling within, responding simply, “I’m fine.”
Νηπένθη
Nipenthes presents a symbolic visual narrative of the Sisyphean cycle of success and failure, joy and sorrow, happiness and unhappiness that characterizes human life. The title derives from the Homeric nepenthes in the Odyssey, meaning “without grief,” a soothing herb that Helen secretly adds to Telemachus’s drink to temporarily ease his sorrow and soften the pain of losing his father, Odysseus. The composition features two female figures arranged as mirror images: the charcoal-rendered figure on the left embodies the self in defeat, weighed down by grief and emotional exhaustion, while the woodblock-printed figure on the right, Nipenthes, represents the resilient self that comforts us and encourages us to rise again. Covered with woodblock motifs resembling knots, scars, and furrows, Nipenthes carries the marks of past wounds and experiences while simultaneously embodying the energy and vitality needed to lift her wounded counterpart and herself. Ultimately, the work proposes the temporary forgetting of pain as essential to human survival and the beginning of every new possibility in life—suggesting that we continue to live because we are capable of letting go, while death remains the ultimate nepenthes.
Κύκλια Πάθη
Cyclic Passions consists of seven female figures personifying seven emotions of the human psyche, each distinguished by a different woodblock-printed “skin” whose textures reflect the shifting identities and manifestations of emotion. At the centre of the composition, Compassion, rendered entirely in charcoal and enlarged to evoke a maternal presence, embraces Depression, symbolizing the capacity of compassion to absorb darkness, offer protection, and begin the process of healing. This movement leads upward toward Forgiveness, which gently supports Joy, represented by a floral patterned surface suggesting happiness, vitality, and renewal, while Joy rises above Anger and Confusion—dark, complex emotions that provoke impulsive and irrational responses. These figures lead downward to Guilt, who hides behind Joy in shame while holding her relaxed hand, completing the circular composition and returning the viewer to Depression in an endless cycle of emotional struggle. Deliberately rendered in black and white, the work presents positive and negative emotions as interconnected forces, suggesting that each is necessary to recognize, understand, and appreciate the other, while black and white embody the opposing depths of darkness and the light of hope.
Λαβωμένη
Wounded explores the intimate, reciprocal relationship between the physical body and the inner self, focusing on the long, painful process of healing and recovery from physical or psychological trauma. The composition presents two embracing female figures within a tightly framed, isolated space: a seated black silhouette rendered in charcoal cradles and comforts a second figure, wounded by arrows and covered in decorative woodblock printing. The larger, maternal black figure represents the inner self, its solid, unbroken form symbolizing the enduring strength to overcome adversity and its transformative quality suggesting the capacity to absorb pain, offer protection, and provide comfort. The physical self, by contrast, bears a repeated woodblock motif of a screaming woman, externalizing the pain and suffering experienced within the body and psyche, while the arrows signify physical or emotional wounds. Exhausted and defeated, the wounded figure surrenders to the embrace of her inner self, suggesting that healing begins through the recognition, acceptance, and compassionate care of our own vulnerability.
Η Αθωότητα και οι Θανάσιμες Αμαρτίες
Innocence and the Seven Deadly Sins depicts seven female figures confronting a young girl, with each woman personifying one of the seven deadly sins—Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Pride, Lust, Sloth, and Envy—and representing the forces that test our inner moral system through our thoughts, desires, choices, and actions. Each figure is distinguished by a different woodblock-printed pattern that, together with her body language, conveys the nature of the temptation she embodies, while the girl representing Innocence remains entirely unmarked. Her pristine skin symbolizes the authentic, pure, and unwritten self with which we enter life, before experience and the passage of time gradually leave their marks upon us. The single flower in her hair represents the blossoming of who we will become, acknowledging that each person develops at their own pace, carries their own passions, and makes their own mistakes, while also accepting that experience brings both wisdom and the inevitable loss of innocence. Yet the open space before the girl offers her the possibility of walking away rather than choosing, ultimately celebrating the human capacity for free will and the pursuit of happiness despite the painful awareness of our mortality.
Δυαδικότητα
Duality confronts the viewer with two differentiated halves of the same body, deliberately positioned at opposite ends of the composition to create a sense of emotional and temporal distance between them. The upper figure turns her back to the viewer, raising and interlacing her arms above her head in a defensive, protective gesture that suggests fear, insecurity, and depression, while the lower figure lies on her back in a state of apparent calm, with closed eyes, parted lips, and relaxed arms. Together, the two figures represent who we are before and after a traumatic experience, while the space between them symbolizes the often invisible period of recovery, necessary for healing, growth, and adaptation. Neither figure is fixed or static: one belongs to a past that can never return in the same form, while the other is continually evolving through the passage of time, making both manifestations of the same changing self. Their faces and bodies are covered with layered surfaces decorated with different woodblock-printed motifs that symbolize emotional states, suggesting that what we experience internally is often reflected outwardly.
Πλάσσειν
Plassein was submitted to the 2022 Chianciano Biennale, where it was selected among the 150 best works of art internationally and exhibited at the Chianciano Art Museum in August 2022. The title derives from the Ancient Greek verb plassein, meaning “to shape” or “to mould,” directly reflecting the work’s central metaphor of the human being as a form continually shaped by life. The vertical composition presents a nude female figure suspended diagonally between two colossal hands, partially enclosed within a central triangular frame that symbolizes the restrictive structures of society; the unframed portion of her charcoal-rendered body represents the untouched self before it is shaped by experience. Within the triangle, her body is covered by a layered surface bearing the same woodblock-printed motif as the hands that mould her, which may be interpreted as the hands of others, the viewer, the self, or even God, leaving the precise identity of the shaping force open to interpretation. The work ultimately presents identity as a dynamic, multilayered process, shaped physically, emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually by internal forces and external influences, with our bodies and inner selves continually bearing the marks of experience, knowledge, adaptation, and time.
