Andreas mallouris in residence
Andreas Mallouris joined us as one of the artists in residence in Newcastle for Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues, a programme exploring the problematic legacy of European colonialism through artistic production and exchange.
During his time at D6 in November, Andreas’ has been exploring ideas of vulnerability and care centring on queer lived experiences.
The legacy of British imperialism has and continues to profoundly impact the lives of queer people around the world. And for LGBTQI+ people seeking safety and refuge in the UK, the British legal system adds a further layer of hostility. Within the law, expressions of language and identity remain colonised by categorisations - with intrusive demands for proof adding to the often traumatic experience of forced displacement.
Andreas asks: ‘How possible is it to decolonise each molecule of institutional perception around our individuality?’
His research in Newcastle led him to get to know local LGBTQI+ networks, including the queer gardening club TopSoil. These encounters and conversations have given Andreas’ new directions to explore.
At the end of his residency, he presented his work in progress at an open studio at D6. The materials he uses in his work, spanning sculpture, drawing and photography, bring the viewers attention to a tactile immediacy, a oneness with human needs but also the fragility of the human experience: ‘How can we fit into the universe as visceral, spiritual, emotional, molecular and sensational beings?’ asks Andreas.
Soap runs through his practice - an ordinary household object representing self care on the one hand and institutional sanitisation on the other, but also a material associated with fetishism and performativity when it is used. The small soaps he made with the imprint of a British pound coin convey how care has become capitalised - becoming a transaction at the cost of care itself and the dehumanisation of those cared for.
The soaps are made with eucalyptus oil - a reference to the Cypriot landscape and the British Empire’s double edged care to protect the population from malaria by importing and planting eucalyptus trees in order to dry the swamplands and thus the habitat of the parasite carrying mosquito. However, the invasive species of tree has brought about the decline of native species, soil fertility and the water table.
In contrast to the malleable, fragrant soaps, dried thorny rose stems pierce the sculptural form of a human heel - one of the most complex joints in the human body, bringing our attention to the idea of suffering and endurance, as well as intimacy and the pain of romance - hinted at by the rose stem.
It was a privilege to have Andreas in residence for this first part of the two year programme, during which Andreas will develop his work in another two residencies in Hungary and Cyprus and workshops to consider the environmental impact of colonialism and social inclusion.
You can find out more about Andreas here: https://contesteddesires.eu/artists/andreas-mallouris/
During his time at D6 in November, Andreas’ has been exploring ideas of vulnerability and care centring on queer lived experiences.
The legacy of British imperialism has and continues to profoundly impact the lives of queer people around the world. And for LGBTQI+ people seeking safety and refuge in the UK, the British legal system adds a further layer of hostility. Within the law, expressions of language and identity remain colonised by categorisations - with intrusive demands for proof adding to the often traumatic experience of forced displacement.
Andreas asks: ‘How possible is it to decolonise each molecule of institutional perception around our individuality?’
His research in Newcastle led him to get to know local LGBTQI+ networks, including the queer gardening club TopSoil. These encounters and conversations have given Andreas’ new directions to explore.
At the end of his residency, he presented his work in progress at an open studio at D6. The materials he uses in his work, spanning sculpture, drawing and photography, bring the viewers attention to a tactile immediacy, a oneness with human needs but also the fragility of the human experience: ‘How can we fit into the universe as visceral, spiritual, emotional, molecular and sensational beings?’ asks Andreas.
Soap runs through his practice - an ordinary household object representing self care on the one hand and institutional sanitisation on the other, but also a material associated with fetishism and performativity when it is used. The small soaps he made with the imprint of a British pound coin convey how care has become capitalised - becoming a transaction at the cost of care itself and the dehumanisation of those cared for.
The soaps are made with eucalyptus oil - a reference to the Cypriot landscape and the British Empire’s double edged care to protect the population from malaria by importing and planting eucalyptus trees in order to dry the swamplands and thus the habitat of the parasite carrying mosquito. However, the invasive species of tree has brought about the decline of native species, soil fertility and the water table.
In contrast to the malleable, fragrant soaps, dried thorny rose stems pierce the sculptural form of a human heel - one of the most complex joints in the human body, bringing our attention to the idea of suffering and endurance, as well as intimacy and the pain of romance - hinted at by the rose stem.
It was a privilege to have Andreas in residence for this first part of the two year programme, during which Andreas will develop his work in another two residencies in Hungary and Cyprus and workshops to consider the environmental impact of colonialism and social inclusion.
You can find out more about Andreas here: https://contesteddesires.eu/artists/andreas-mallouris/