London based conceptual and visual artist Anna Fafaliou doesn't allow art, or the feelings it provokes, to be defined. "I think any attempt to define what art is would simply fail and limit its significance in our life. Art is art. It’s an expression, a dream, an admiration of a certain skill. We can’t really define it. We just admire it." Fafaliou's body of work explores "the relationship between the body, space and object." She creates imaginary environments questioning the way people embody the past, present and future.
Fafaliou's artwork makes viewers feel as though they are in a time warp. The objects used in her work can make the mind venture to memories of the past. A doll. A toy car. A dress. All objects that can stir nostalgia. Fafaliou's use of white in her artwork can create a blank canvas for viewers. This enables viewers to detach from the past and mentally paint a picture of the needs, wants and desires they crave for their future. It begs the question "Do you need to let go of the past to embrace your future?"
For Fafaliou, "The memories that these objects hold most of the times can be distorted, because the bigger the distance from the past the more we tend to idealize it. In this work I wanted to explore our emotional attachment to our past, our roots, our memories through personal belongings. Using autobiographical elements I tried to create a personal map or my personal labyrinth – as the theme of the festival suggested- of my belongings, demonstrating the way I see, feel and understand my belongingness in the present."
Currently, Fafaliou's is continuing to develop her current project and "the relationship between the self and objects. The notion of memory takes a major space in my work as a main tool of understanding one self. At the moment I’m at the studio preparing two exhibitions for Malaga and London."
