IDENTITY CRISIS

In Greek, crisis signifies a moment of revision, a tipping point where something sheds its old skin, transforming into something new, yet unsure of where it’s headed. Identity, on the other hand, is the personal puzzle we all strive to solve, our core, the definition of who we are and what we cling to. This exhibition explores these two concepts, pulling apart the paradox embedded in the phrase “identity crisis”. Yapoutzidis-Karras orchestrates a peculiar dialogue between seven gilded figures and crafted objects, setting the stage for a kind of theater where the actors never leave their marks. In their stillness, the sculptures pulse with an undercurrent of movement, trapped in the eternal cycle of growth, decay, and everything in between. These are not just sculptures; they are modern myths, welded together from metal and the artist’s personal journey. There’s a moment when you catch a glimpse of yourself in them, but then, paradoxically, you encounter the complete opposite: an estrangement so foreign, yet irresistibly magnetic. In Yapoutzidis-Karras’s work, the connection begins from within—recognizing the echoes of yourself in the artist’s gleaming metal, shaped not just to reflect, but to awaken a desire within us, a desire we once felt, perhaps before we could even name it. The room is frigid, yet the nudity within it scorches. We could delve into a discussion of sexuality, but that’s mere surface-level distraction. The true allure lies beyond the transient lust of the moment; it is elevated by these myths woven in the present. Greek theater once mirrored society, unflinchingly showing us both our virtues and vices. The characters never aged, but the world around them did. Today, Stathis Yapoutzidis-Karras breathes new life into those archetypes, reimagining them in contemporary form: the OnlyFans star, the beggar, the narcissist, the UASS girl, the aging gamer, the sister, and the tired faces we encounter as we scroll mindlessly. In this theater of life, we are all trapped in plastic.