My name is Niki Stylianou, and today I will tell you a few words about me. About my inspirations, aims, dreams…
I was trained as an architect. Then I fell in love with philosophy. Eventually, I found myself working in the fields of art and design — always exploring, always crossing boundaries.
There came a point — a particular moment in time — when I was introduced to the world of contemporary jewelry. An evolving field which, to me, exists somewhere between applied and fine arts. I was instantly fascinated by this encounter, and I decided to embark on a deeper exploration.
You might ask: Why jewelry?
Because for me, adornment is not merely, as often perceived, an excess — a decorative complement or a symbol of socioeconomic status.
Jewelry, for me, is a means of self-expression. A way of telling stories. It is a statement — a language complete in itself. And when I say “jewelry,” I’m not just referring to necklaces or bracelets. I’m pointing to an entire, newly discovered universe — one that speaks of movement and moments, ideas and embodiment, experience, connection, and freedom.
Examples always help bring things to life. So at this point, I’d like to introduce you to the work of an artist currently active in the contemporary jewelry field: Lodie Kardouss, from Belgium. We’ve had the honor of hosting her many times at AJW — a festival I have been co-organizing with Erato Kouloumpi for the past five years.
Lodie surprises us every time with her creativity
Below you can watch two short videos, featuring her works CURIOSITY and A JEWELRY PIECE, respectively.
Kardouss also creates wearable jewelry. But the works presented here aim at something different. They are driven by her innate need to create conditions through her projects that allow for the emergence of a connection — between the creator, the creation, and the viewer — through direct experience.
CURIOSITY, as she explains, is a collection of ephemeral jewelry whose trace has been captured before disappearing. Time collapses during the performance. Past, present, and future merge into one. Yet, this fleeting moment of unity is captured by a photo. An act that re-activates separation, as the time of remembrance is introduced.
On another note, installed inside the space of a gallery, A JEWEL PIECE merges together into a complete whole, the gracefulness of ballet dancers’ bodies and the sophistication of a simple pearl necklace. What do we perceive?
The bodies as one body…
The body that activates the adornment…
The adornment, activated by the body… by the dancers who, during the performance, become part of the piece; if not the piece itself…
Body and adornment… the adornment and the body. Always as one…
This is why I am so passionate about the field of contemporary jewelry — a field I find endlessly rich and fertile. It offers ground for every permutation, every interconnection, every infatuation.
And I hope you can now understand:
My need to decipher jewelry — as concept, symbol, and testimony of inner experience.
My need to reaffirm it as a language, a means of communication.
My need to use it as a guide — one that always leads me back to a series of open-ended questions:
What is the essence of creativity? What is art? How does art affect life and human nature? Who creates? Where does inspiration come from?
These were my concerns — passionate concerns that led me to found Uni.Versus Art Room and The Light Factory, my mentoring and coaching/consulting practice for artists and creatives. And this is what both the Art Rooms and my coaching practice stand for:
Art is the expression of the Love for Life. And Life gives birth to Art. That means they share common ground. I would dare to say that in many ways, they coincide. Their most predominant common characteristic is that they are always in flux. You cannot immobilize them. And you cannot restrict them. Because when you attempt to mold or control them, they die. And with them, dies the magic, the joy, the amazement that brings forth the curiosity that arises from the unexpected. Both Art and Life are free. And if you want to make art, as you want to live, you have to play, experiment, follow the flow, accept and reform, be flexible, learn and adapt, move on.
Art, as well as Life, is a form of communicating. It does not make sense if you create exclusively for yourself. Because then, there is no reciprocity; there is no feedback. And without feedback, there is no evolution. To evolve, one needs to share, embody, re-assess…
Art and Life are like narratives. For a narrative to exist, there must be a narrator (who is possibly the creator of the story as well), a spectator or a listener, and a storyline. The creator externalizes (thoughts, images, experiences), the recipient internalizes and the storyline explains, manages and interconnects, giving meaning to the chaos of phenomena, emotions and fears. So does the journey of self-knowledge.
I believe that Life, as well as Art, are expressions of Love. They spring from Love and they end up in Love. Let me explain… We wondered where the inspiration comes from. Who is the one that creates? There are many answers to this question. We feel more in accord with that perception, that wants within us an inexhaustible source, from which we can draw what we need. Others associate this source with spirituality and the divine. Others with knowledge and the Universe. Others with the collective unconscious or the One and the Unified Field. We would like to simply connect it with the inner light that leads us; that gives us inspiration, strength, faith, and motivation to move forward no matter what the circumstances. I firmly believe that Creation emanates from this same Light.
But what is Creation? Every action is an act of creating. A mind conceives an idea, designs a plan, and decides on the steps he/she needs to proceed and process, till the moment of its actualization. This is how we learn, this is how we move forward. This is how we change.
Who can Create Art? Who can change his life through Art? Who can Live his dreams by Creating his own unique narrative? Everyone…
Join us here at Uni.Versus Art Room and the Light Factory, and we will co-create…
