Georgios Staikos

My work develops through a process of continuous movement and transformation. My personal experience of repeatedly changing place forms the background to this process: a departure from the familiar, but at the same time an ongoing search for new ways of perceiving and creating meaning.

Abstract bird forms recur throughout my work as traces of movement, flight and transition. I often begin with simple charcoal drawings on paper, which I approach either as finished works or as fields of possibility. Their forms are repeated, transformed, or incorporated into larger compositions. They move from drawing into painting, function as elements within collages, or evolve into objects, constructions and installations.

I approach painting similarly. Compositions made with acrylic or oil paint can serve as starting points for new forms and spatial propositions. In this way the process remains open, and the work develops through continuous movement between drawing, painting, the object and space.

My engagement with icon painting and theatre set construction has had a significant influence on the way I perceive the image and space. Icon painting has led me to examine the relationship between representation and reality, and the capacity of an image to make visible what everyday seeing does not. My work in theatre set construction, on the other hand, has directed my attention towards the structure, materiality and organisation of space. These experiences come together in my work, where individual works can connect and form a unified environment.

The condition of xeniteia (Greek: ξενιτεία; Latin: peregrinatio) functions as a broader framework within which this practice develops. Continuous movement, departure from familiarity and comfort, and the need for redefinition are not only lived experiences but also ways of working. The artistic process remains open to continuous transformation, just as a form moves from drawing to painting and from the surface to volume.