SAVVAS CHRISTODOULIDES

The works of Christodoulides may be described as attempts to draw with a thread, rather than with a pencil. Sometimes he sews with a needle or sewing machine, at other times he cuts the cardboard with his scissors into shapes reminding us of a dressmaker's pattern1, in such a way as to retain the tension, as well as the curvature, of a forceful, individual and almost violent script. He carefully practices the various gestures involved with the act of sewing and executes them on and around the working surfaces, which he rolls up, as he goes along. Occasionally, the recurrent motif abandons its apparent function, breaks away from the outline and launches itself into infinity. This intensely visual language is not used as a substitute for the expressive medium, it is not meant to replace the brush, nor is it a resourceful, idiosyncratic way of making new images. His choice of sewing, needlework or cutting has a conceptual dimension to it. Christodoulides becomes so embroiled with the intricacies of his working methods that he lands himself in a strange position, somewhere between indulging in the pleasures of exploring the medium and allowing its deeper meaning to emerge. However, he manages to avoid falling into the trap of becoming obsessed with formal experimentati