ELENI SAKELARIS CREATES FANTASTIC BLACK and WHITE LINOPRINTS

Biography

Eleni Sakelaris was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1976. Until the age of 19 she lived in the Ivory Coast, Mali, Ghana and South Africa. Her studies began in Greece at the AKTO College of Art and Design (Fashion Department) in 1997. Furthered studies at the London College of Fashion earned her a 1st class honours degree and multimedia award gaining the attention of Benettons’ communication and research centre, Fabrica, based in Italy.

 

During her first year there she participated in the Milano furniture fair (Salone del Mobile) with her 3 part installation “The Memory of Furniture”. In 2003 she took on the role of Editor in Chief with the book “2398 gr – a book about food” which was presented with the special edition of COLORS magazine and as part of Benettons’ worldwide campaign supported by WWF. In 2004 she taught at the London College of Fashion. In 2005 she moved to Greece and worked for the advertising agencies Karamella and Looking. In 2009 she opened the company “Me And You Creative”. Since 2011 she have been working as a freelance graphic designer and recently began carving linoleum prints.

 

Linoprinting

Linoleum came into my life a couple of years ago when I decided that I could no longer spend as much time inside the hyper reality of my computer screen. I wanted to use my hands and become more in touch with a slower side of myself. I wanted something that felt. With the changes going on all around me, I wanted to keep moving, but not at the oppressive speeds of modernity. At a speed just of my own. Carving created a safe space of contemplation and self expression for that.

 

Having worked as a graphic designer for 15 years it was impossible to avoid the aesthetic similarities to technology. The potential of technology is endless. It has an unparalleled artificial perfection which the human hand, however steady, cannot reach. At the same time the human hand exceeds technology with it’s instability, giving an emotional depth which no line pulled by a computer can reach. My linoprints are a testament to that. The perfection of instability. The challenge is deconstruction. To use as few elements as possible, the line, the circle, the triangle, and with the technique of repetition to create a pattern which becomes anthropomorphic. The feisty rooster, the arrogant peacock, the doubtful octopus. With the same logic, the omittance of colour. Simple black and white, eliminating any chance of unnecessary interpretation.

 

Having studied fashion I have always been fascinated by the two dimensional form of fabric and it’s ability to transform into a three dimensional object. Adding the human form to create motion. In my work I hope to encapsulate that movement. Inside each geometric shape is motion and within motion there is always emotion.