"I was eight years old when my grandfather took my hand, and he didn’t let go until we found my parents in Athens. Who knows what might have happened if I had stayed in the village. It was 1946. Early spring of 1946. The almond trees were blooming side by side, and the fields were in their splendor. Before all the other trees, while the north wind still reaps like a sickle, ‘the crazy almond blossom’ blooms, as the song says, and delicate white flowers with a sweet and subtle aroma emerge, reminiscent of almond flavor. We were experts in almonds. We ate them fresh, roasted, scalded, peeled, salted, sugared. The only thing we didn’t do with them was make souvlaki. In June 1941, the Germans entered the village. They took everything edible, and what they couldn’t carry away was left for those involved in the black market. We went hungry. Lands were sold for a sack of flour. Girls were bought for a litre of oil. Souls were extinguished by starvation like fireflies."
The Past is Not a Dream - Theodor Kallifatides
***
The poppy is a wild and delicate flower. It has been used for a long time as a symbol of peace, sleep and death. It is a special flower. It does not allow to be cut, it decomposes and falls apart quickly. The brilliant color and vibrancy that it presents in the field does not last even a few minutes in our hands. If we want to keep it, to make it remain, it will be necessary to elaborate it, work it in such a way that it does not spoil. The resulting, imperfect, nature will be much more complete and elegant… and will remain.
Love and beauty are the two fundamental challenges of the human being and it takes a lifetime to understand them.
Beauty repairs.
***
Photograph on 100% cotton Hahnemühle paper with pigmented inks, natural walnut wood frame and museum glass (70% anti-reflective and 90% UVA protection). Red collection (51 pieces). White collection (32 pieces). Numbered and signed work (25 editions of each piece). Each piece comes in a black case, with "Jaime Sicilia" stamped on the cover, specially designed for this project.
"I was eight years old when my grandfather took my hand, and he didn’t let go until we found my parents in Athens. Who knows what might have happened if I had stayed in the village. It was 1946. Early spring of 1946. The almond trees were blooming side by side, and the fields were in their splendor. Before all the other trees, while the north wind still reaps like a sickle, ‘the crazy almond blossom’ blooms, as the song says, and delicate white flowers with a sweet and subtle aroma emerge, reminiscent of almond flavor. We were experts in almonds. We ate them fresh, roasted, scalded, peeled, salted, sugared. The only thing we didn’t do with them was make souvlaki. In June 1941, the Germans entered the village. They took everything edible, and what they couldn’t carry away was left for those involved in the black market. We went hungry. Lands were sold for a sack of flour. Girls were bought for a litre of oil. Souls were extinguished by starvation like fireflies."
The Past is Not a Dream - Theodor Kallifatides
***
The poppy is a wild and delicate flower. It has been used for a long time as a symbol of peace, sleep and death. It is a special flower. It does not allow to be cut, it decomposes and falls apart quickly. The brilliant color and vibrancy that it presents in the field does not last even a few minutes in our hands. If we want to keep it, to make it remain, it will be necessary to elaborate it, work it in such a way that it does not spoil. The resulting, imperfect, nature will be much more complete and elegant… and will remain.
Love and beauty are the two fundamental challenges of the human being and it takes a lifetime to understand them.
Beauty repairs.
***
Photograph on 100% cotton Hahnemühle paper with pigmented inks, natural walnut wood frame and museum glass (70% anti-reflective and 90% UVA protection). Red collection (51 pieces). White collection (32 pieces). Numbered and signed work (25 editions of each piece). Each piece comes in a black case, with "Jaime Sicilia" stamped on the cover, specially designed for this project.
