Evi Savvaidi – Sky is the Limit (2019)
curation and text by Dr Kostas Prapoglou
archaeologist-architect, contemporary art critic and curator
Embarking from the fundamentals of pre-Socratic philosophy and more particularly Empedocles’ (c.490-430 BC) four unchangeable elements (roots) of fire, air, water and earth, Evi Savvaidi creates an immersive constellation of site-specific works that will populate a dedicated area at the beachfront of Cottesloe Beach in Perth. Marine animals and -specifically for this occasion- seashells, play a pivotal role in the visual vocabulary of Savvaidi. Choosing the seashell as a component for her sculptures, the artist investigates aspects of the life cycle and symbiosis, while she simultaneously poses questions involving movement in a literary and metaphorical sense, and conveys a connection between humans and the natural environment. The white colour of her structures is in harmony with the immediate surroundings, expanding the viewer’s eye towards the ocean and the horizon. It establishes a parallel reality nestling between the viewer and the surrounding habitat, with the artist’s sculptures acting as pylons of emotional interconnection and interdependence.