The G & A. Mamidakis Foundation presents on Saturday 15 June 2024 in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, the three works that received the Art Awards 2024. They are Landscape in Motion by Irini Miga, The Resilient Thread by Katerina Nakou and Long Waves by Stratis Tavlaridis.

In addition to the award-winning works, the work Six Breaths per Minute by Maria Louizou will also be presented, which will be on permanent display at Minos Palace.

Irene Miga’s Landscape in Motion is a site-responsive artwork that combines painting and sculptural elements, depicting a constantly evolving landscape. Inspired by the swirling of a leaf in the air, it draws our attention to the endangered and rare flora of Crete, encouraging collective awareness for its preservation.

Irini Miga

Katerina Nakou’s The Resilient Thread consists of large-scale compositions woven on the loom, which reshape the role of the decorative elements of passementerie, an endangered art form that traditionally decorated the margins and now becomes the central element of a narrative.

Katerina Nakou

As Ms Nakou says: “The work is symbolic and is an artistic challenge for me, not only because of its large scale, but also because of the complexity of the hand-woven compositions and intertwining threads that are intertwined to highlight the diversity of ‘passementerie’ art. Guided by the theme of care, this art that symbolizes margins on various conceptual levels is placed in the spotlight and claims our attention, highlighting the need for a more inclusive approach to our world. The realization of the proposal was a demanding process, but at the same time very special and creative, and I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity and support to realize it.”

Katerina Nakou

Long Waves by Stratis Tavlaridis is a large-scale installation -30 meters – made of perforated handmade paper using the papercut technique that reflects the form and movement of the sea in our memory, but at the same time it also functions as a symbol of a new era, likening it to images of fishing nets. The aim is to awaken the public to the imperative importance of caring for the seas. As the artist says: “I want to draw attention to something we have ceased to notice, which, because of our lifestyle, is now going unnoticed. We are an integral part of the destructive process that is happening now and we have the opportunity to reverse it. For the last few months I have been working every day with dedication on the creation of the installation. The award and the Foundation’s support have enabled me to be able to research and open a new cycle of work on large-scale installations, where the viewer will be able to wander through the work itself. Through this creative process I was able to meet people who embraced my idea and helped me to realise it.”

In addition to the presentation of the works that received the Art Award 2024, the G.& A. Mamidakis Foundation is pleased to present to the public the new work of its collection, Six Breaths per Minute by Maria Louizou. Three striking clay vessels of human dimensions symbolize the safe space, the space of living with our bodies and expressing our voices, and host a vocal performance in a kind of protest for the unheard voice of victims of violence. At the same time, the project explores the evolution of ceramic art using examples of traditional pottery in a new era of interdisciplinary art. The design began in 2020 in the Peloponnese and completed its journey in the village of Thrapsano in Crete, the oldest point of knowledge and production of handmade pottery. The project was first presented in 2021 at the Ileana Tounta Centre for Contemporary Art, supported by Terraneo and the Ministry of Culture, and part of it was realized after a commission from the Onassis Foundation in 2023 for the exhibition PlásmataII: Ioannina.