Threads in Time - Miriam McConnon Papageorgiou

Objects occupy our everyday lives, objects that we use so often that they have become integrated with who we are as people. These objects are often old, worn and broken but they tell a personal story of the life in which they live.

Miriam Mc Connon Papageorgiou’s recent paintings and drawings describe people and their lives through these everyday objects. Ordinary often overlooked objects occupy the canvas, such as some old cups, a pincushion, some empty hangers, an old stamp collection and a worn pair of ballet shoes, reveal a glimpse at a life and a story in time. The figure is absent in Miriam’s paintings allowing the objects to take charge of describing the person in whose life they live. As a portrait may describe the physical appearance of a person, these objects tell us about the life of the person.

In the large charcoal drawings ‘grandmas’ and ‘Dolls’, Miriam allows the objects of the dress and the Tailor’s dummy to take on the persona of a female person. In the drawing ‘Grandmothers’, the dresses which normally are associated with the older generation of Cypriot women, stand in a line, confronting the viewer. They are grouped together in solidarity. This image is both comforting and disconcerting at the same time. In the drawing ‘Dolls’, a group of tailor’s dummies stand together as if in conversation. Each mannequin is weighed down by the measuring tapes hanging around their neck.

As in Miriam’s previous work there is a heavy use of pattern in these new paintings and drawings. She uses the pattern now not just to give these ordinary objects a decorative and almost sacred status but she also examines how certain patterns evoke memories and nostalgia. This is most evident in the repetitive use of the fabric and lace patterns that cast our mind back to a place and time belonging to the past.

There is delicacy in Miriam’s work, one that is achieved through a sensitivity and attention to detail. This delicacy is most evident in her two books of paintings, ‘Stories from the Tama’. The books are encased in a glass display case, casting our mind back to a museum display of ancient books or manuscripts. Each page of each book is a painting of a handkerchief (Tama) that carries a personal inscription to a loved one who is sick or who has died. So each page represents a human story. The artist collected hundred of these handkerchiefs for her outdoor installation, The Megalo Tama (The Touring Tama), a public artwork that was commissioned for the presidency of the EU in both Ireland and Cyprus.

As always in Miriam’s work, there is a sadness that does not repel our attention but in fact draws us closer. The work appears to speak personally to each of us. Her paintings and drawings leave us with the stark realization of how fast time is passing and give us a new appreciation for the often overlooked precious details of our everyday lives.

Opening reception is on Friday 16th May 2014 at 8pm.

Opening Hours
Daily: 10:30 - 13:00 & 16:30 - 20:00
Saturday: 10:30 - 14:00