Mother and child
2005
"Children", Aliki Paliou appears to describe, is the high point of a woman's life but, at the same time, excessive love together with the pressure on a modern mother to measure up to her many roles bring out in her destructive and oppressive behaviors
In her first solo exhibition, comprising sketches, paintings and video installations, the artist deals with the classic subject of tracing the mother-child relationship by literally documenting her daily life with her child. In a very direct and at the same time revealing manner, she shares with the viewer this strong experience of motherhood with all of today's positive and negative aspects.
In a telling way without any kind of inhibitions, Aliki Paliou dares to touch upon subjects in the life of mother/child that have rarely been discussed in modern/contemporary art. She describes the asphyxiating love which develops between parents and child which can end up being extremely stifling.
Starting by reversing the roles of mother and child, Paliou photographs herself wearing her child's baby clothes, or she draws the mother sleeping in the child's cot which happens to be surrounded by bars. At the same time, some works show the portraits of the mother and father hidden behind the child in such a way that their faces have now been replaced by the baby's head. And because this is an organic relationship that develops continually, as it strengthens so the line work in the pieces changes, especially in the sketches; the charcoal lines become ever bolder! As one make his/her way through the installation, one sees the mother covering her baby with her shadow, filling the baby's face with traces of red lipstick and excessive love, imprinting her baby's portrait on her body and finally stroking it with her hair until she covers it completely and it vanishes!
What really stands out from the whole and finally transfixes the viewer is that within the areas of absolute and shining happiness as well as the darker side of motherhood, unfolds a reality that is truly familiar to us all. Paliou assumes neither the role model of the Virgin Mary nor that of Medea, whether substantively or metaphorically. She fills a room with her obsessions and, although this may seem like an uncontrolled emotion-dump, it results mainly in a courageous awareness and detailed account of reality.
Marina Fokidis
Ink on paper (211 cm x 196 cm)
Charcoal on paper (123 cm x 143 cm)
Synesthesia
2004 ⎯ in progress
Magic Landscapes
2007 ⎯ ongoing
Blue Light
2003 ⎯ ongoing
Mother and Child
2005
Zacharitsa 44-42
Athina 117 41