AKI Finals Pictures – “Two details and the portraits”
Artist Statement
I am Nikolina Karoulla, a Greek Cypriot artist from Cyprus, a country that has been divided into two sides, Greek and Turkish, since the Turkish invasion. Growing up in a divided land has shaped my understanding of identity, connection, and separation, which continues to influence my work.
My practice moves between painting and printmaking, often combining the two to create layered pieces that reflect both my inner world and personal experiences. Printmaking plays an important role in my process, particularly through the use of my own photographs. These images come from moments in my past that hold deep sentimental value. By transferring them onto different surfaces, I preserve fragments of memory, allowing them to exist beyond their original time and place.
For me, memories are not fixed or clear. When I return to them, they often appear in shades of green, or in harsh, dark reds during more painful moments. Depending on how much I remember, these memories can feel more or less transparent, sometimes fragmented, with holes or missing parts, and other times more complete. This unstable quality of memory translates directly into my paintings.
My paintings are expressions of thoughts and emotions I cannot always explain in words. My physical approach is influenced by how I feel; anger leads to fast, forceful marks, while sadness creates softer, more fluid brushstrokes that resemble tears. I cannot fully control the movement of paint, but I carefully choose colours to carry the emotional weight of each piece.
At the core of my work is the transformation of memory and emotion into something physical and visible. My work exists between presence and absence, clarity and fragmentation. Rather than explaining, I aim to evoke by creating work that is felt rather than understood, where viewers can find their own meanings within the layers.
Nikolina Karoulla 