Hariclia Michailidou
Biographical
I was born in northern Greece, in a time of great new forces emerging
from all areas of life, the sciences, the arts, literature, music, dance and
many others.
Those forces of the near past and the emerging forces of
the future were always present in my life, both exercising great powers on me transforming
my life and later my work; certainly, those forces in addition to the
primordial, the cosmic forces that have evolved us into the present and
continuously act upon us transforming and still changing us through time.
I think very little of what we know influences our work, what
mostly influences our works we ignore, or we do not remember, but it exists in
a universe within us, somewhere between the conscious and the unconscious, and
that is the most powerful part which shapes our characters and our works.
From that place from the universe within my work mostly
springs and evolves.
Certainly, the world that surrenders me influences and
enriches me with new impressions continuously.
The sweet fragrances of our planet, the strong desire, the
wisdom of great teachers, the grandeur of the universe, our conception of
infinity and eternity, the unknown, at times tormenting and at times exalting me
are strong forces that form and evolve myself and my work.
My early works “caves in the heart” and “dance of shadows”, reveal
suffering, anguish sorrow and mysterious, ambivalent, enigmatic feelings of the
conflict of innocence and of experience. They tell the story of the caves of suffering,
and they reveal hidden truths and great wisdom in their deafening silence.
Lately my work has been mostly influenced by silent
reflections, from dreams, the opening of the skies and the flight into the
night. It is about revelations of the bliss, of beauty and the wisdom of the
night.
The latest works “cosmic
nights-cosmic shores”, tell of my personal voyage through life.
Tells of my encounters into the
night sky, it also dares to trough the spotlight to some of past personal
experiences, with works from the “caves in the heart” and the “dance of
shadows”, not to hunt me any longer but to liberate me with the truths they
taught me.
It is also an attempt to show the
panorama of life on earth, in connection with the cosmos.
Lately my work has been mostly an
experience of joy with new surprises, exciting possibilities, unexpected
outcomes and infinity of variations. Time and time again I had the feeling I
come face to face with infinity and I question myself what to do, stop or make
another step, wondering what the difference will be? It has been very challenging,
but I am glad I always took one more step and marveled at how the work grows
and wondered still at what lies beyond.
Thoughts on my work 2025
The agony and the ecstasy of human experience distinguish us as a human species. How the emotional and the spiritual manifest simultaneously at some specific time in our life and from within the heart of a person a heaven opens and makes itself known to us, is an awesome gift beyond any others, for which we are forever grateful.
“Cosmic Nights-Cosmic Shores”
Here within the images of the cosmic nights I project, like visions in a dream, reminiscences from the past on the one cosmic shore we all share. Here past and present eco through space in the cosmic night where light reflects the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of our experiences, the panorama of life on earth.
Use of color
I never thought of color separately, I remember I used color spontaneously, in accordance of how I felt or rather how I needed to feel. Maybe like medicine, I used from the palette of watercolors what made me feel good, what I was thirsty for. Today I still find them refreshing and joyful like the rainbow.
I often wondered; what could be a solution for pain. If pain exist, what would be an easy way to easy it? From my own experience the best way was to forget it, and the way to forget it was to focus at something else, and that something else was art, was beauty. Here a few images that helped.
Emily Dickenson writes.
‘So a Flower Bereaves the Mind As if it were a Woe Is Beauty an Affliction_then? Tradition ought to know_”
True, I think the two often coincide as necessary. As in a flower, symmetry, is present throughout the cosmos, the universe manifest symmetry, reflection, mirror image, and when gazing at symmetry we feel in balanced, in harmony.
Art that lifts our spirits
I believe that the extreme opposites manifest in similar ways, simultaneously, and that is how when we are in a tremendous need our spirit uplifts us to the spiritual, to divine heights, as if to strengthen us, to heal us, to save us. That was how I first experienced the divine in my life and since then I paint the heavens.
To blow up stars and create super novae, to merge one and more galaxies at will on the radiant night sky of my computer screen where my universe was reflected, resembling so closely to the universe outside my window, with the telescope of the mind wide open it felt as if I was flying side by side with the Hubble.
images of twenty year voyage into space, I blew up stars and created supernova, I merged galaxies together at will, and later I started to modify cosmic visions, stretching them, rendering them plastic and sculpting them, warping them in magnificent ways, I created an extensive number of series and named them according to my understanding like; poetics of space, cosmic phenomena, cosmic encounters, cosmic metamorphosis, cosmic goddesses, on the plasticity of the universe, cosmic splendors, into the universe, cosmic realms, cosmic abstractions, just to name a few. Sometimes I will see images taken by telescopes that remind me of images of my work, and I will post them side by side on public media under art versus science.
That was the beginning of a twenty year voyage into space, I blew up stars and created supernova, I merged galaxies together at will, and later I started to modify cosmic visions, stretching them, rendering them plastic and sculpting them, warping them in magnificent ways, I created an extensive number of series and named them according to my understanding like; poetics of space, cosmic phenomena, cosmic encounters, cosmic metamorphosis, cosmic goddesses, on the plasticity of the universe, cosmic splendors, into the universe, cosmic realms, cosmic abstractions, just to name a few. Sometimes I will see images taken by telescopes that remind me of images of my work, and I will post them side by side on public media under art versus science.
That was the beginning of a twenty year voyage into space, I blew up stars and created supernova, I merged galaxies together at will, and later I started to modify cosmic visions, stretching them, rendering them plastic and sculpting them, warping them in magnificent ways, I created an extensive number of series and named them according to my understanding like; poetics of space, cosmic phenomena, cosmic encounters, cosmic metamorphosis, cosmic goddesses, on the plasticity of the universe, cosmic splendors, into the universe, cosmic realms, cosmic abstractions, just to name a few. Sometimes I will see images taken by telescopes that remind me of images of my work, and I will post them side by side on public media under art versus science.
“cosmic manifestations”
“cosmic wonders”
“cosmic goddesses”
