Christos Michaelides

Coming from a place where the landscape conjures feelings of loss, pain and confusion, geography plays a vital role in the formation of a collective memory. People use the landscape as a tangible manifestation of this collective memory, whether through the creation of monuments or symbolizing the landscape as a stronghold for preserving the memory of the past. These visual narratives not only reflect the past but also establish an intimate connection with contemporary issues and imagery.

For me, paintings serve as transitional objects; where creation necessitates the relentless use of the object, blurring the line between creation and the illusion of destruction. I draw inspiration from an archive, revisiting places that hold personal significance - places where I once lived, places which I once encountered. This exploration leads me to construct a multi-layered sequence of visual material, forming a lexicon composed of the remnants and traces left behind by the passage of time.

What consumes my thoughts and drives my creative process is the presence of an inherent void which spans across generations. An unsaid, unspoken story, a formless traumatic narrative that defies conventional words or clear representation but is a complex non-descriptive shared experience that is intimately entwined with the notion of community. I explore this network of complex connections and relationships which exist within a state of transition and liminality which is in a constant form of becoming, where the boundaries and definitions have yet to take form.