TRIDENT RESPAWNED
Work commissioned by Corfu Heritage Foundation
Iron, leather, human hair and teeth//2017 210 x 70 Cm ''Irene Pouliassi creates her visual precept for Pallas Britannia, with the spear of the goddess Athena transforming into a trident, giving a new twist to the mythical encounter of Zeus’ daughter with Poseidon. The victory of wisdom and strategy over the seven seas of the world is a comment on the power of Britain over the centuries, giving the spear the second reading of sceptre. The trident-sceptre, deleting the form of the characteristic cross with the diagonal strips, is placed vertically, with its extended finial being bound with human hair and teeth. The work Trident Respawned addresses the issue of history as a case of personal mythology, which incorporates over its course the quintessence of human existence and, at the same time, is determined by it. The artist elaborately reveals Britain’s life-giving force, which has long been the driving force towards the avant-garde. The elaborate wrapping of the sceptre with the courteous offerings, as sacred devotion, not only reflects the unshakable dedication of the people, but reveals the attachment of their existence to the history of the country on the road to eternity. The rebirth of Athena’s spear follows the path of the dedication of the people who protect the sceptre and who devote themselves, like in a ceremonial rite. The dedication of one part of oneself symbolises the emergence of a new subject and its definitive change, with the artist marking the transformation of Britain itself another aspect of the ritual.'' Georgia Kourkounaki Art Historian |
Image from'Britannia – Pallas: The Twilight of the Idols. ' Exhibition at the 'THE CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM OF CHANIA, Crete.