Anima means soul, vital force, spirit and breath in Latin and this is the core idea of the series along with the Jungian interpretation of the word that means the feminine part of a man’s soul.
This body of work is an ode to female energy and nature as they are inextricably connected (mother earth and nature being feminine words and entities in numerous languages, cultures and in spiritual works and philosophy). Even though the primary intention is the depiction of a positive state, there is a subtle melancholy layering over as commentary on how both the female and the earth are mistreated.
There are cut outs of many repurposed fashion images that represent an aspect of the female as it has been described by western culture so far rather intentionally and these pictures are scattered alongside cut outs from nature photos and animals. The word animal also derives from Anima and they are ever present in the series as silent warriors and reminders of our duty to protect the earth we inherited.
The technique I used for these pieces is mixed media on canvas
ANIMA / 2024 / Chalkos gallery / Thessaloniki / Greece
