Artemis Andromaxis
Artemis Andromaxis was born in Greece but spent most of her life growing up in the council estates of London England after her family had moved there. Her parents ran a small corner store in central London that specialized in products usually only available in Greece. The Attiki honey, imported feta cheese, olives and various pastries provided an Oasis for the many Greeks missing home.
Surrounded by the many languages of the city, the different European tongues observed on product wrappers, and her own natural bilingualism, her fascination with the nature of language itself started very young.
She studied Life Sciences at Brunel university and received her Bsc in 2003 when she decided to pursue an Artistic career instead of scientific research. She had grown tired of cataloguing the findings of others or adding one more scintilla to thoroughly covered topics, and preferred instead to simply look at these topics again anew and see what visions she can get from them. Her fascination with language, symbols, and biological expressions informs her creative process and her work displays the depth of her familiarity with these fields.
Artist Statement
The transmission of information from one consciousness to another through the use of abstract symbols is near magical. Every other force in the universe has a balance to maintain (Newton’s laws with action/reaction etc.), but language… just think of the damage the wrong words can inflict, or the joy to be had (and multiplied) in the act of shared music or book recommendations. Everything from the movement of entire cultures to whether an individual’s day is bright or gloomy; communication, the sentient transmission of information from mind(s) to mind(s) is our greatest gift. It’s power underestimated because of its ubiquity.
I explore language and symbols deliberately in my work as a way to analyze it. Creating new forms of communication or examining old ones (or ones that I don’t understand but can still marvel at its power – like highly advanced mathematics) in different ways as a method of finding out what is shared between them. Is there a way to look at these tongues that could hint at an underlying power that exists outside of a person’s mind? What are their roles with respect to will, motivation, freedom, knowledge, and communication itself?
Another area under exploration is related to the cacophony of symbols we find ourselves surrounded with every day, how that influences our thoughts, and in what way does that reflect our thoughts now. At no stage in human history have our minds been bathed in such vibrant and continuous noise. From the moment we leave our beds in the morning our constant contemplations are interrupted by constant message checking, advertisements, distractions, and interactions.
It’s hard to say whether this is a good or a bad thing (as that usually only becomes clear decades after these transitions become cemented) but it will likely be another version of the “Axe-maker's Gift” in that a great deal of good is resulting from this continuous connection, but as always it comes with a price.
I have a theory that we’re in the embryonic stages of uniting all of our minds in some fashion. Not in a “Borg” sort of way where everything is subservient to the hive, but in a continual awareness of other minds. It’s a bit exciting really thinking about the possibilities that incorporating electronics and AI will have for our species. Being aware of other minds/thoughts will be difficult of course, and a long way off. I suppose it’s good we’re testing the waters in some emotionally charged areas through social media (where it’s still not really “connected” to us). That is, we’re not really emotionally ready to know what other people are thinking because honesty is still a difficult topic for us.
So these chaotic works tend to be highly complicated stream of consciousness projects where I incorporate the written word (sometimes in recognizable language but not recognizable content), complex mathematics, simplified drawings & highly simplified works. The fuzziness of thought at passing recognition of a symbol contrasted with the sharp and focused vision of an important idea hitting the viewer over time… a way to visualize this.
Advanced mathematics is particularly important because of how these symbols are regarded. It’s not unusual to see someone with a pendant or some other wearable artifact, and for it to have ancient markings. Asked about the marking they might be able to give you a story, they might not. But there is usually something powerful about these markings that speak to the individual wearing them. There is a meaning that might not be known (or known completely), but in many cases there is this visceral comfort or reverence in its presence.
Seeing the equations in an advanced text on Superstring Theory, I’ll find that nearly everything contained within (including many English language sentences!) are beyond my current understanding. This doesn’t stop the same visceral response to seeing these symbols though. I know there is something there, something powerful, and at least a hint at something far larger than myself…if not outright poetry written by the universe.
One thing that *is* different with math equations though – they’re written in a universal language. A language that can be learned if you study hard enough. A language that will be the same regardless of where you find yourself in the universe (only with different symbols). This consistency and adherence to the truth makes it all the more fascinating for me.
Sometimes there’s a coherence in the sense that a running or connected theme is being re-visited. These thought-scapes I suppose could be described as a self-portrait of sorts, as you’re seeing the images as they flit through my brain over a period of time. I suppose what I’m trying to imbue into the viewers mind is the same sense of awe at the beauty and confusion of things that I experience. Let these voices wash over you in their confusion, and let your mind flit from detail to detail as it makes its own journey.