Illusion of home, as a memory (Ενθύμιο από το Πάσχα / Keepsake from Easter)
2022
Ceramic roof tiles, oil on canvas
180 x 180 x 13 cm
“Nicole Economides and her work Illusion of home, as a memory (Ενθύμιο από το Πάσχα / Keepsake from Easter) will be the second presentation of the one work show series opening on May 9. Through the use of semiotic elements, she explores feelings of nostalgia, home and finding one’s identity while crossing the Atlantic bidirectionally. Her conceptual paintings remind the spectator of longing as well as recollecting. On view is the painting of Nicole Economides which depicts an oversized replica of a note on the back of a photo by her grandmother. The painting reminds the spectator of an old, square shaped photo leaning against the wall. The other side hidden before our eyes, picturing the imagined past. It is an act of preserving the past and at the same time it can be interpreted as putting the future at disposal. While the painting is leaning against the wall, additionally it is resting on two piles of roof tiles without touching the floor. Once used as a sheltering home now the tiles are alienated and placed on the ground, carrying the unsteady weight of the past. The past of the Artist's Family is characterized by moving not only cities and countries but continents. When moving to an unfamiliar place, the inaccessibility of language and knowledge becomes evident. Just like the Greek writing on the back of the photo is not understandable nor recognizable for non-Greek speaking people as well as the other way around when Economides family moved to New York.
The original photo of Economides Grandmother was taken in 1969 during the Easter time in New York. The whole family – the parents, the children and some relatives – find themselves on a terrace among the skyscrapers of the city. In front of them there is the skewered lamb, an orthodox Greek tradition for the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The captured memory depicts not only the annual Easter celebration but also a sense of making a home far away from home. The usage of words on the note plays a decisive role in the narration of their state of mind, which declares the following: a souvenir from Easter in order to remember us. An image that symbolizes an object of remembrance in order to not be forgotten by the part of the family that stayed “home”. Furthermore, it can be interpreted as a symbol of achievement, a valid reason to leave one’s home and stating “we made it”. Growing up in a world where many people are in search of a home - cross borders to find new grounds and notions of freedom, a new dawn and certainty - each individual looking at the note depicted by Economides can find on the other side their very own memory of family history and finding home. This photo travelled back to Greece decades before the artist made the journey herself to rediscover the photo, inscribed with her family’s history.”
Curatorial text for one work show series, Illusion of home, as a memory, by Olympia Tzortzi
2022
Ceramic roof tiles, oil on canvas
180 x 180 x 13 cm
“Nicole Economides and her work Illusion of home, as a memory (Ενθύμιο από το Πάσχα / Keepsake from Easter) will be the second presentation of the one work show series opening on May 9. Through the use of semiotic elements, she explores feelings of nostalgia, home and finding one’s identity while crossing the Atlantic bidirectionally. Her conceptual paintings remind the spectator of longing as well as recollecting. On view is the painting of Nicole Economides which depicts an oversized replica of a note on the back of a photo by her grandmother. The painting reminds the spectator of an old, square shaped photo leaning against the wall. The other side hidden before our eyes, picturing the imagined past. It is an act of preserving the past and at the same time it can be interpreted as putting the future at disposal. While the painting is leaning against the wall, additionally it is resting on two piles of roof tiles without touching the floor. Once used as a sheltering home now the tiles are alienated and placed on the ground, carrying the unsteady weight of the past. The past of the Artist's Family is characterized by moving not only cities and countries but continents. When moving to an unfamiliar place, the inaccessibility of language and knowledge becomes evident. Just like the Greek writing on the back of the photo is not understandable nor recognizable for non-Greek speaking people as well as the other way around when Economides family moved to New York.
The original photo of Economides Grandmother was taken in 1969 during the Easter time in New York. The whole family – the parents, the children and some relatives – find themselves on a terrace among the skyscrapers of the city. In front of them there is the skewered lamb, an orthodox Greek tradition for the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The captured memory depicts not only the annual Easter celebration but also a sense of making a home far away from home. The usage of words on the note plays a decisive role in the narration of their state of mind, which declares the following: a souvenir from Easter in order to remember us. An image that symbolizes an object of remembrance in order to not be forgotten by the part of the family that stayed “home”. Furthermore, it can be interpreted as a symbol of achievement, a valid reason to leave one’s home and stating “we made it”. Growing up in a world where many people are in search of a home - cross borders to find new grounds and notions of freedom, a new dawn and certainty - each individual looking at the note depicted by Economides can find on the other side their very own memory of family history and finding home. This photo travelled back to Greece decades before the artist made the journey herself to rediscover the photo, inscribed with her family’s history.”
Curatorial text for one work show series, Illusion of home, as a memory, by Olympia Tzortzi
Images © Stathis Mamalakis