This painting is a collage of memory, made from pieces of my family and childhood. I appear as a child in my favorite green dress and bag, gifts from my grandparents, with the presence of my late grandfather close by. My father’s large hand carries weight and authority, a strictness that I remember strongly. Yet when placed together with my mother’s eyes above, they seem to merge, becoming almost one figure, a presence both powerful and protective, reaching out to hold me and my sisters.
Around the figures of my family, I added the flowers that connect me to Santorini, the island where my father is from. I never lived there, but I have been going since I was two months old, returning every summer and Easter. Santorini holds many of my happiest memories