The Cyclades allegedly got their name from the ancient Greek word kyklos — meaning the circle, but also the sky — because the ancients believed that these islands were arranged in a circle around the sanctuary of Apollo on Delos. Found all across these islands, the small stone figurines of the Bronze-age Cycladic civilisation possess strikingly proportions and a unique curved geometry. Probably of religious significance, these prehistoric artefacts were originally painted over, with pigments used to add details of garments and body parts.

For KYKLOS, Polina Miliou revisits these figurines and their quintessentially Greek formal vocabulary, in a playful exploration of organic geometries and pop animism. Using exclusively handmade techniques that emphasise intuition and play, she gives her objects a circular rhythm expressing the natural movement of the hand caressing a surface, all the while developing a design language that is consistent, yet relaxed. Combining the monolithic with the intimate and the curvaceous with the linear, the objects at the exhibition evoke a sense of unburdened, childlike exploration and imaginative world-building.

This is Carwan’s first solo show by a Greek female artist, which also adds another layer to the gallery’s representation, especially in regard to showcasing new talent from Greece.