One that holds everything

During November 2017, I participated in an exhibition in the “Crypt Gallery” in Euston. The exhibition space was bigger than the previous ones. This space was a crypt under a church with a rich and interesting history. It was very dark and had a unique and distinctive atmosphere. It was a big challenge for me to create an artwork that connects harmoniously with this space. After of a lot of thoughts and trials I decided to create several huge matchsticks, some regular and some burned. I was inspired by the history of the crypt:  During WWI and WWII it was used as a war shelter with the people hidden in the Crypt waiting for the moment that the war will end and they will see again the light of a peaceful day.  I metaphorically portrayed the natural light and the hope of the people in the Crypt, namely the hope that the war will end and they see the natural light safely. Inspired by this idea, I created the matchsticks that do have a light (flare) but, at the same time, they are very fragile. Also, I experimented with their scale, multiplying their size and  giving them a playful character and texture. Moreover, I gave them the title “Have you got a light?” with the aim of asking viewers this question and identifying as to what they think the reasons behind this artwork has been. .  I believe that every object means something different to each one of us, a meaning that depends on our experiences and psychology. 

 

Furthermore, I was a member of the technical team in this exhibition. We were responsible for setting up and taking down  the show. We enjoyed the process and we had excellent collaboration. However, we had several difficult moments in the technical section because the place was very old and some parts were very fragile. Furthermore, we had a lot of restrictions on how to hang up some artworks. I think it was great experience for us to improve our skills in setting up exhibitions in one-of-a-kind place. Moreover, it was a great experience to collaborate with the curatorial team that was instructing us on to display each artwork.

 

Finally, I believe that the whole show was well organized and I gained tremendous experience from my participation.