57
H
elena Hadjioannou
presented her solo ex-
hibition of paintings entitled
Through the
Mind’s Eye
at Kypriaki Gonia Gallery in Larn-
aca on 9-26 October 2013. The exhibition was
opened by Mr Iason Iasonidis, Larnaca City
Councillor.
Artist comments
“I have been creating art for as long as I can re-
member and have a passion for creating some-
thing new and exciting in visual form. I love
the idea of changing something from one state
of being into another, through the medium of
Paint, Glass, Photography and Digital artwork.
My inspiration for the work in this exhibition
is primarily my memories of Cyprus as a six
year old from before my family left for Lon-
don; intertwined also with memories of many
years of coming back to my place of birth.
My very early memories are still very strong,
and from these early years I draw inspiration
for my art. Whenever I am faced with a blank
canvas they invariably come to the forefront of
my mind in an unconscious way. I remember
sleeping under the carob tree in the afternoon
after a day at the vineyard with my family. The
feel of the earth on my feet, playing hide and
seek in the carob tree which unfortunately is no
longer there, the wild spring flowers, the smell
of the rain on the hot earth is still very strong
in my psyche. My love for nature was born at
this time and it inspires me to paint. Whenever
I return to Cyprus and get off the plane, it is the
smell of Cyprus that is so intoxicating and I am
excited once again to be back.
I try to catch light to create an atmosphere in the
work, and endeavour to make a visual image that
says something of what it is that I feel and re-
member. I work in layers one after another until
the work comes to a conclusion. This applies to
any medium that I choose to work with at the
time.”
Helena Hadjioannou has a BA in Fine Arts
Painting from Central Saint Martins College of
Art and Design, London (1991-1996). She has
a National Diploma for Foundation Education
in Art and Design from the Anglia Higher Edu-
cation College (1989-1990). She has had many
solo exhibitions and participated in a number of
group exhibitions.
Through the Mind’s Eye
By artist Helena Hadjioannou
