GEORGE SFOUGARAS ARTWORKS

Airports revisited and birds warning of an imminent apocalypse. (To be confirmed). September 2016 Airports. Such fun. I always associated air travel with a certain elan, in a 60's James Bond kind of way. Ladies in large Sophia Lauren sunglasses and impeccable manners. Greying gentlemen smelling of Vetiver and pipe tobacco, carrying a little valise of essentials.....perhaps a misunderstood spy or two. Of course, but of course, the reality is somewhat different. A loud scratching PA system streams an incomprehensible array of white noise at a sweaty, post euphoric crowd, comprising many young folk of all genders and sensibilities, with incredibly symmetric eyebrows. Some are dressed to impress, and it is impressive that some have managed to get dressed. Many, encouraged by the shrill background noise are also shouting loudly. Some have no fear of germs and such like and are sitting, lying eating, and sleeping on a floor laid when marble was cheap. The little canteen is making en...

The Flame I was honoured to be asked to be a part of the making of a commemorative flame to be displayed at Holocaust memorial commemoration in January 2020, alongside members of the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Leicester. The description below is a very short, mainly visual outline of the work that led to the final work. I was supported by members of the congregation and my more detailed final project description has been handed over to the Synagogue to be displayed alongside the sculpture.  Below is the call from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In commemoration of this landmark anniversary, we are running an exciting project for organisations and community groups all over the UK to take part in. From art groups to faith groups and charities to schools, groups of all kinds are coming together across the country to make their own Memorial Flames. Each one...

The  Lost Muslim Cemetery  I grew up in a house built on a long-lost Ottoman army graveyard. This painting is about a history that was omitted by design as we were growing up. Before colour was added.  The Muslim Cemetery. (A reconciliation) July-August 2021.  Acrylic painting 80 x 100 cm. The above painting has its roots in my early childhood on the island of Crete.   It has somehow wanted to find expression and over the years has surfaced in my stories and artwork. So  when this image appeared on a canvas in 2021, I was not surprised. It is largely based on a photograph for a postcard by E. A Cavaliero  from the late 1800s. The caption in French reads Costume Turc Crétois. In other words, the photographer captured the dress code of Cretans in the late 1800s. But these were not just any islanders.  They were  Cretan 'Turks', Τουρκοκρητικοί  or  Τουρκοκρήτες ,  Tourkokritikí  or  Tourkokrítes ,  Turkish :...