Cypriot artist Chris Akordalitis' (b.1989, Paphos, Cyprus) practice contemplates the inextricable interconnectedness between humans, animals, and the environment in search of a more grounded and spiritual interpretation of life. His work often proceeds by hybridizing the prevailing themes from the Middle Ages with those of Classical Mythology to locate and elaborate their lasting relevance to modern times.
Often, Akordalitis envisions a dreamlike landscape where the boundaries between reality and imagination and between history and fable dissolve. In it, anthropomorphous, but certainly not human, beings appear to be in a constant state of relocation. Refugees of a mythical world, they are collecting stories and embarking on endless wanderings, imaging displacements in space-times that are indeterminate and diasporically fluid.
Over the past few years, Akordalitis’ work has been developing as one overarching series of chapters that revolve around issues of flatness, the symbolism of the day cycle, and the persistence of historical memory. His work reappraises this idea of cultural contagion and virality, examining its social and gender context, its reappearance over the centuries, and its similarity to events that have occurred elsewhere.
Selected exhibitions and projects include: Casts of An Island’, PSI Foundation, Limassol; 'Odyssey’, Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, Athens; ’A Garden of Earthly Delights’ at Taipei Dangdai, Dio Horia Gallery, Taipei; ‘Inside/Outside’ at Expo Chicago, Dio Horia Gallery, Chicago; ‘Fragile Gods’ at Dio Horia Gallery, Athens; ‘House Guests’ at Half Gallery, Los Angeles; 'Frag den Abendwind', Akademie Gallery, Düsseldorf; and ‘Land[e]scapes II’, Art Seen, Nicosia.
His work has been reviewed by Artsy, Juxtapoz, ArtObserver, Art Chosun and other cultural media. Akordalitis’ work has been part of prominent art collections, including Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga and Nicos Pattichis, Personal Collection, Cyprus.