GEORGE SFOUGARAS ARTWORKS

'LAZARUS' (FROM THE ANCESTRAL DNA SERIES) The idea and the process Following on from my explorations in DNA relationships and ways of tracking the movements of my ancestors around the world, I reached a point where it felt as if I was trying to resurrect the past.  Lazarus refers to that act of restoring something but being left with the melancholy feelings that stem from having witnessed something beyond this present time. The barren land, the stories of the grandmother figure, looking at the viewer from the top left, (recounting her personal catastrophe and her determination to protect her family), are indicative of the personal and   human stories that accompany and give voice to any national disaster. So the image, although very personal, as with all my other work, I hope it goes beyond my cosmography to speak of our shared humanity and the complexities, the highs and the lows of our existence. And always of hope beyond.  The ...

In the distance, in the far distance, the bark of a dog. Then, nothing. Utter silence. This lack of noise, the stillness of the night, opens you up and focuses a heart like nothing else. The moon is almost full. Thank God. Any fuller and it would make you cry. How can something be so beautiful? The moon, bright as day shines intermittently through ink blue clouds. It plays a reverend hide and seek, more for the sake of propriety than fun. Every glimpse, every curve of the circle an aching joy. "Here, look, hey you, human; yes, you: this is heaven. Have some, look, the light: honey, mother's milk, first love's kiss, gold and silver, hope, eternity, freedom". And you....drive. The moon is ethereal, a silent caress. You are still firmly held back in your material 'now'. The physical world tugs you back. "Remember who you are: "Driver, father, tired, anxious, mind full of stuff". Let go...Home is not a place but this light that s...

I was flying back from Crete late last night and after dropping off the little hired car, I made my way to the Departure area. My previous experiences in Heraklion airport have been well documented on my blog, but I have tended to focus on the depilatory habits of young revelers, and not so much on the badly planned and antiquated building. As a matter of fact, I was going to refrain from revisiting this subject, so tired was I of regurgitating the same old bitter complaints... And Then.... And then it happened. As I turned the corner a modern and well-designed duty-free area appeared where there had previously lurked a sweaty pizza dispensary in the midst of a gaggle of cold hard metal seats. I got a funny look as I let out a loud 'wow' and even more surprised looks when I told a rather tired saleswoman how beautiful the place looked.  This was perhaps atypical Greek behaviour, waxing on about airport retail design....at the airport. She advised me to get the 'for dy...