HOME GALLERY: THE LIGHT PUPPET EXHIBITION

I have often staged exhibitions of my own volition, in true ‘freelance spirit, The benefits of not being assigned to any commercial art galleries gives me creative scope and more personal connection to my art audience. The pros and cons are a topic for great debate and worthy of exploration, but I want to use this story space to outline the ingredients. aside from the art itself, that made my recent LIGHT PUPPET sculpture show uniquely beautiful.

I am always on the lookout for independence and the unconventional when exhibiting and out of the blue had the good fortune of someone offering me their home to exhibit in. I first visited Evie Liolios’ home to install a wall sculpture she had purchased. We were planning to inaugurate the piece with me performing its story. to an intimate audience of her family and close friends, Her full-hearted embrace of the story and world of the art and her own impressive art collection and objects already in her colourfilled home overflowed with love for creativity in all its forms, Her parents were Montessori trained teachers from Greece who had established the Academy of Modern Greek in Melbourne in the 60’s, Evie herself had been immersed in the arts and been nourished in environments of community and creative expression.

It was clear that I had landed well Earlier in the year I had an ember of an idea for a new series of work and had quietly asked the muses for a space, so I accepted Evie’s open-hearted and genuine invitation.

.4 months of planning and vigorous creating resulted in the LIGHT PUPPET exhibition, a one-night affair where 80 + eager and diverse art lovers filled the home gallery. Elevating the magic of the night were 5 exceptionally talented friends: singer/musician Stavroula Thomopoulos, actor/singer Achilles Kalanis, musicians: Kon Velanis & Jim Haritonas, along with Evie’s close friend. poet Petr Malapanis provided entertainment throughout the evening with performances inspired by the art. The catch was that they remained anonymous; even in my opening speech I couldn’t name them personally adding to the anticipation and excitement,

Each performer was equipped with a small bell which, they rung to alert everyone a performance was about to take place. This gave them the autonomy to choose how and where they would position themselves in the house.

The video below provides glimpses of the Light Puppet Art interspersed with footage of the crowd and the performer’s stunning contributions. The event was a multidisciplinary collaboration that put the spotlight on visual art in a real home environment infused with thrilling moments, multi-sensory invitations, emotion and storytelling. VIDEO LINK THE LIGHT PUPPET EXHIBITION