“Don’t try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out” Henri Matisse
Reaching at the end of my degree course I find that Matisse’s words are very wise in their simplicity. In the beginning, I was trying to create something original. In the course, I discovered that “originality” means nothing if there is no real meaning in what you do. If it doesn’t express yourself then your creation is blank and dull. So I tried to do what I do best even if it wasn’t original: I painted. I painted endlessly and tried to be faithful to who I am in my concepts and technically efficient in my practice.
My paintings are a celebration of beauty, strength, and vulnerability of human life. Large-scale canvas offers the viewer the experience that s/he is part of the picture like a voyeur that witnesses intimate moments. The Cypriot landscape with vibrant colours and light surrounds my figures. The images of peasant life transcend revolutions both industrial and political. “My people” have survived wars, poverty, refugeeism but feel safe outside in their fields and groves. The earth that gave them life is like a mother until the end.
Reflecting on time, history, and the sense of nostalgia, I concern myself with everyday situations and scenes that may seem small, but I take time to think about them in this ongoing panoramic painting. It will not only be about past events, however, as it will also be about current ongoing events in my life, as it took me a year on this painting, therefore I will reflect my time at university, documenting everyday thoughts while studying. This sort of reflection will enable me to also enjoy the smaller things, which is exactly what I want the viewers to take from the piece.
Michalis Theodosiou 