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Leaving behind

Writing in memory of Ioannis Antoniou who died last week, I browsed through the pages of a book dedicated to his artistic
career during 1985 – 1994. I spent some time looking at photographs of his work.

I was particularly drawn to an interview spread across the back pages of the book, which he gave in 1992. The interview delved in and out of his work and philosophy, where he spoke about time, about our human existence and what we leave behind, elements he focused on a lot in his most prominent work entitled ‘Suitcases’.

I very soon became acquainted with him. As I followed his footsteps through his artwork, I realised his every step was like
walking up a ladder; one step led to the other but also took him to other planes, not coincidentally but as a matter of continuity.

It wasn’t until I went to put this book to the side that I came across his signature, resembling an outline of a man tagged at the end of this name. Drawn in a biro pen, I couldn’t help but stroke it. And as I did I consequently felt his disappearance.
I recalled his own words that were imprinted in the book, about his ‘Suitcases’.

As he explained, his work “talked about what we have experienced, what we have offered on earth at the moment of our departure’. Before coming across his own signature I was content to ponder about experiences, what we aim or not to leave behind while we are very much alive.

But as I looked at his signature staring at me from the pages below my eyes, I also thought about the experiences that Ioannis will continue to give to generations to come. Many more, I assume, than he could ever have imagined.

Published in The Cyprus Weekly Newspaper, 14 September 2013

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Shedding light

There’s a Purslane succulent growing in an abandoned plantpot outside our office. We smokers use it as an ashtray while the air-conditioning unit above it ensures it gets enough purified water to keep it alive.

It’s been a week of fidgeting around. Half of us are back to reality after the summer break, while the other is still in wonderland trying to come to grips with what’s about to become the start of the academic year. And I’m not quite sure where to place myself. Shall I be content with one of the last alternative festivals of the summer, the Afro Banana Republic
festival to take place in Athalassa Park next week? Or, should I look forward to getting back into gallery hopping and theatre going, a vast image of the wintery months that lie ahead. 

I’ll also have to prune my plants as autumn kicks in. Strip them down to give them strength to bloom once winter sheds its whims. Perhaps I should also remove all the cigarette butts from the Purslane’s bed. Lif t it from the f loor and place it on the window sill. There where people will see it and perhaps care for it.

This week’s fidgeting has brought about the ‘little things that matter’. Taking care of the loose ends but also preparing for what lies ahead. A pause to recall what we’ve neglected, bring to light what we’ve dismissed, and open our eyes to what awaits to be embraced. It’s autumn af ter all. Seems absurd to think that the heat will soon subside; seems absurd that this
time last year we were probably preaching the same things, but under very different circumstances.

*Published in The Cyprus Weekly Newspaper, 7 September 2013

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No art, no game

The ministry of education in Greece has scrapped art and music classes for secondary education with the exception of two periods for first year high school students.

Nothing lasts forever, sure. Giving time to students to experiment with their fantasy will eventually come back into the curriculum, right? But as I keep my optimism up, I also hiss at the potential of such measures being applied here at some point.

I can’t bear to think that as a nation, we would ever plodder along to produce only craftsmen and labour workers. Nor can I imagine a curriculum where ten-year-olds have no opportunity to get a feel of what its like to actually hold a pencil in their hands or breath into a flute, as rudimentary as it may seem during one’s formative years.

Art and music may be ‘solo’ sports, as it takes one to seriously focus on their art piece to eventually give birth to one, but it also promotes other notions in class; communication between teacher and student being one of them. There’s nothing more animated than trying to explain why you chose to colour the sky red, for instance.

There’s seeking for the material that expresses you more; paint, collage, ink, flute, guitar, saxophone? And then there is thinking outside the box. Because if a teacher tells you to go ahead and make that collage you want to, but also tells you to make your own glue for it, the final art piece gradually seems to be miles away. It’s through research, collaboration with classmates and experimentation that you will achieve your goal, and learn. Learn that, especially in the 21st century, equipped with a technologically freaked out generation, not everything happens behind the screen. 

Published in The Cyprus Weekly Newspaper, August 31 2013, written by Melissa Hekkers