Andrea Christodoulides

My most recent work is inspired by my anxiety and stress surrounding the unending quest for success and the student's inevitable entry into the 'real world' upon graduation. In this respect, I am addressing the fear and anxiety faced by many young artists finishing university, stepping into adulthood and having to support themselves financially whilst sustaining their art and their newly proclaimed artist’s identity. The suspended body movement – while my mind is desperately screaming wanting to go forward but unwillingly kept immobilised by sheer, silky cut fear – is reflected in the materiality of the work. The satin fabric (for lack of silk) transports me back to my childhood dream of being a princess, but the inefficient, staccato way of cutting and assembling the individual fabrics together brings me back to the reality of myself as a fragmented adult. The fabric materiality contradicts the normative way of painting on stretched canvas and the long history and trajectory of painting. But initially it was simply chosen because of its freedom and flexibility to grow and transform during the creative process. The work deals with charged emotional pathways and raw feelings, just as raw and blunt as the works are. Fluid colour dripping and staining the satin, rubbishly stuck satin instead of beautifully sewn. Dream versus reality.

The imaginary characters Woman Octopus, Daddy Octopus, Cinderella and the Caterpillar God tackle the idea of living in a dysfunctional capitalist society of simultaneous overwork and unemployment, and managing the heavy pressure of finding self-worth and a meaningful role in society. Our current generation grows up striving for success in a highly competitive society that focuses mostly on the past rather than the future.

The realisation that the majority of young artists will most likely get a job they won't like just for the sake of supporting themselves, and that there won't be enough time for art, is frightening. There is that creepy, inescapable thought; that inner relentless voice that we are not going to become what we have envisioned ourselves to be. Redefining our life goal, our reason of being, without compromising our values and while maintaining our self-respect is a matter of survival. Dreams and reality need to be sewn together to fumble our way forward.