Who is artist Antigoni Kavvatha? Share with us a few things about you and your work in general.
My work as an artist is not a protest; it does not attempt to awake people’s consciousness or offer solutions to their impasse. It is about plurality and harmonious coexistence in the world. It is a need for peace, harmony, sensitivity, balance, symmetry; about beauty in life and death. Far from the complete destruction of reality by prejudice, religion, wars, mass media, ideologies and virtual reality.
I work mainly in the peace and isolation of the night hours, when passion, tension, impasse, are fading, and settle down. A great body of work has been about what is left after a fire, a thunderstorm or some catastrophe. Shadows or what is left after the strong light of the sun obliterates the substance of nature, objects or humans. There are no sharp, threatening colours or shapes. The flattening or simply transformation of three-dimensional objects into two dimensions, the derogation of perspective and again its transformative reenactment occupy a prominent place in my visual researches.
My works are usually large scale consisting of several autonomous, smaller panels, which are placed, as they are completed individually over time, on either side of a central composition. Eventually, a frieze is formed running along the circumference of the entire room, or an interior space that invites the spectator to walk through it.
What was your reaction when you heard that you were awarded?
I was very happy to hear that my work was appreciated by a group of connoisseurs.
Tell us a few words about your awarded work.
The work Journey is a modern Ζoforos, painting collage drawn from online and printed matter, personal photos and historic archives, placed in a continuous succession, with scenes that took place and marked the flow of the recent world history: Uprisings, demonstrations, wars, atrocities, migratory movements. The picture reflects the violent, volatile and provocative world in the flow of history up to today and functions as an allusion of α continuous political and social revolution.
What was your overall impression about Larnaca Biennale 2021?
Larnaca Biennale 2021 was a very good, well organized exhibition and much appreciated by the audience. The team was respectful to the artists and the artworks. There was immediate response to messages, immediate solutions to any upcoming problem and great hospitality.
A message you would like to send to artists that will apply in the future for participation in the Larnaca Biennale.
Apply to Larnaca Biennale 2023 and do your best. It will be a great experience to participate in this prominent and ambitious art event and discover Cyprus, an amazing place.
