Gabriel Christys (He/Him)
Having spent time in isolation due to the pandemic lockdowns in Scotland, away from Cyprus, my home, had caused me to go through a period of intense homesickness. I would lose myself in my thoughts and remember the time I spent with my friends and loved ones, the changing landscape during long road trips and vivid scenes from my childhood that generate feelings of nostalgia. To subdue those feeling I would spend my time reading books and poems, learning about the life, history, and traditions of my homeland. These experiences have not only contributed to my maturity as a person but have also influenced me as an artist, motivating me to explore my cultural roots and Cypriot identity. By using symbolism and complex compositions, I seek to construct and present a different Cyprus; a Cyprus of the past; an island from a different era, where despite all the hardships, people lived an intriguing, simple and pure life.
My visual language originates from a collection of digital images that I have gathered, including personal photographs and pictures acquired through online sources. These range from landscapes to figures and objects, all of which belong to the Cypriot Cultural sphere of the past, which I organise by category for future use. In my practice, I use a variety of techniques depending on the desired effect I wish to express in my work. Sketching and collage are suitable in the preparatory stages of my work, allowing me to experiment with different ideas and compositions quickly. For landscapes, I prefer using oil paints, which provide my work with the elements of depth and vitality, and allow me to effectively express the strong emotional bond that connects me with the land of my ancestors by using vibrant colours and bold shapes. For more detailed and complete works, I prefer using etching and drawing which allow me to create highly detailed and often illustrative compositions. The delicate lines allow me to bring together various visual elements to express my ideas. Finally, I often use a monochromatic pallet to reinforce the idea that the scenes being depicted are lost memories of the past.