present and past

The installation "Metaxi* present and past" attempts to retrieve a myth with no face that, nonetheless, remains alive through the years. It refers to the "unknown princess" whose costume was found in an excavation of a grave on the north portico of the church of St. Sophia and is currently exhibited in the Museum of Mystras. It consists of two silk pieces, an interior (shirt) and an outer garment, some parts of the leather shoes and the hair of a young woman, restrained and adorned by an array of silk laces.
This rare and extraordinary finding in conjunction with the local historical tradition of silk production during the Byzantine and post-Byzantine times, was the inspiration for the project. A three-dimensional arrangement of yarn forms linear patterns and reshapes the structure of the dress, reconstructing an immaterial and ethereal female figure. By using yarn as raw material, the weaving of a cultural bridge is achieved. A bridge that connects notionally the historical weaving tradition with the position of women in the development of history and cultural memory through a colorful path between present and past.

*Metaxi has a dual meaning in Greek language (though with a slight differentiation in spelling):
1. Silk
2. Between

The installation was created within the framework of the celebration for the European Heritage Days 2013 "The Faces of Time" under the auspices of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in cooperation with the 5th Conservancy of Byzantine Antiquities and the Cultural Center of Sparta and the kind sponsorship of Mistras Group Inc.