During a residency in Athens, I deepened my research into transformation and the extension of the body through masks and costumes, tracing their lineage from ancient Greek artefacts to contemporary artistic practices. Immersed in the city’s cultural and artistic scene, I examined traditional masks as historical and symbolic objects, reinterpreting them through contemporary methods to explore their sociological significance and their role as interfaces between body, environment, and identity.

Beyond archival and museum research, my practice expanded through close collaboration with the local art community and direct engagement with the city’s material landscape. Through Greek traditions, I explored the connection between body and object, as well as the concept of the offering as a bridge between object and future. A Greek icon painter introduced me to the technique of gilding, which I am now developing further by combining metallic coatings with other materials. I began producing my own pigments from the charcoal of a burned forest, binding them with shellac, and experimenting with found materials as sculptural and wearable elements.

For several months, I used Mount Tourkovounia as an open-air studio, working daily on site. There, I organised an exhibition in the mountains and created land art in a space usually used for leisure. The freedom I experienced in Greece reshaped my understanding of public space—not as an unclaimed void, but as a shared realm belonging to everyone. This openness allowed me to work anywhere without the restrictions typical of Central European cities.

Through this process, I came to understand charcoal and burning not only as artistic techniques but also as conceptual elements—linking transformation, destruction, and renewal. The ideas developed in Athens, particularly those concerning a planetary perspective and the integration of found materials into my work, continue to inform and expand my artistic practice.





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