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O
bjects occupy our everyday lives; objects
that we use so often that they have become
integrated with who we are as people. These ob-
jects are often old, worn and broken, but they
tell a personal story of the life in which they live.
MiriamMc Connon Papageorgiou’s recent paint-
ings and drawings describe people and their lives
through these everyday objects. Ordinary, often
overlooked objects occupy the canvas, such as
some old cups, a pincushion, some empty hang-
ers, an old stamp collection and a worn pair of
ballet shoes, reveal a glimpse into a life and a
story in time. The figure is absent in Miriam’s
paintings allowing the objects to take charge of
describing the person in whose life they live. As
a portrait may describe the physical appearance
of a person, these objects tell us about the life of
the person.
In the large charcoal drawings
Grandmas
and
Dolls
, Miriam allows the objects of the dress
and the Tailor’s dummy to take on the persona
of a female person. In the drawing
Grandmas
,
the dresses which are normally associated with
the older generation of Cypriot women, stand in
a line, confronting the viewer. They are grouped
together in solidarity. This image is both com-
forting and disconcerting at the same time. In the
drawing
Dolls
, a group of tailor’s dummies stand
together as if in conversation. Each mannequin
is weighed down by the measuring tapes hang-
ing around their neck.
Patterns that evoke memories and nostalgia
As in Miriam’s previous work, there is a heavy
use of pattern in these new paintings and draw-
ings. She uses the pattern now not just to give
these ordinary objects a decorative and almost
sacred status, but she also examines how certain
patterns evoke memories and nostalgia. This is
most evident in the repetitive use of the fabric
and lace patterns that cast our mind back to a
place and time belonging to the past.
There is delicacy in Miriam’s work, achieved
through a sensitivity and attention to detail.
This delicacy is most evident in her two books
of paintings,
Stories from the Tama
. The books
are encased in a glass display case, casting
our mind back to a museum display of ancient
books or manuscripts. Each page of each book
is a painting of a handkerchief (Tama) that car-
ries a personal inscription to a loved one who is
sick or who has died. So, each page represents
a human story. The artist collected hundreds of
these handkerchiefs for her outdoor installation,
The Megalo Tama
(The Touring Tama), a public
artwork that was commissioned for the Cyprus
Presidency of the Council of the EU, in both Ire-
land and Cyprus.
As always in Miriam’s work, there is a sadness
that does not repel our attention, but in fact draws
us closer. The work appears to speak personally
to each of us. Her paintings and drawings leave
us with the stark realisation of how fast time is
passing and give us a new appreciation for the
often overlooked precious details of our every-
day lives.
About the artist
Miriam Mc Connon Papageorgiou was born in
1977 in Dublin, Ireland. She graduated from
Threads in Time by Miriam Mc Connon Papageorgiou
Miriam Mc Connon Papageorgiou
