Despoina Isaia

Co-Lack-ting, 2024

Series of drawings
Mum’s recycled personal papers, oil sticks, pencil

About the Work

The work is part of a series that portrays the contrasting habits of collecting and assembling in all its forms. It delves into the realm of memory, weaving together elements of fantasy, reality, trauma, and joy. The artistic endeavour explores a world of child-like objects and structures, each existing independently yet coalescing to evoke a profound sense of redemption amidst
perpetual crisis. At the core of the work lies the essence of the inner child, resonating with the maternal connection, remaining in a state of flux—a slightly chaotic fantasy allowing for potential metamorphosis.


From the press release ‘Co-lack-ting’, a duo show at The Briggait, Wasp Studios, Glasgow, January-February 2024



 
About the Artist

Born in Athens, Greece, in 1974.
Graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts in 1999.
Participated in exhibitions in Greece and abroad.
Lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland, since 2013.

Central to the oeuvre of Despoina Isaia stands the passage of time as perceived by the artist through physical and mental changes. Time seems to rule and structure our lives, further divided by the rational but disturbing underpinning that there is such a notion as wasted time as opposed to useful time. Isaia relies on her immediate surroundings, the self, the home, the family, to source materials and inspiration. Starting with the body, she assembles cut hair, nails, and shed skin, and she uses its measurements as a golden ratio for her artworks, which are created with painstaking methods and techniques. Time-consuming traditional crafts, associated with the woman at home, are applied to make installations that involve knitting, sewing, weaving, and more, seeking harmony and quality of life amidst the ever growing demand of efficiency and economic gain.

Curriculum Vitae

Exhibitions

Many Studios, Glasgow, Displacement
Whitechapel Gallery, London, Keeping it Real  – An exhibition in four acts, works from the D. Daskalopoulos Collection, Curator: Achim Borchardt–Hume
Tint gallery, Thessaloniki, Gamma, Epsilon, Delta, Curator: Els Hanappe
46th October Art Salon, Belgrade, Curator: Aleksandra Estela Bjelica
The Armory Show 05, New York, Els Hanappe Underground
Els Hanappe Underground, Athens, duo show with Hatice Guleryuz
ARCO 04, International Art Fair Madrid, Els Hanappe Underground
ART Athina, Els Hanappe Underground
Living inside, Curator: Ioanna Mirka, Group Exhibition
Els Hanappe Underground, Athens, duo show with Apostolos Karastergiou
Metro, DESTE Foundation, Group Exhibition, Curators: Dan Cameron & Katerina Gregou