Marina Coriolano - Lykourezos

Marina Ηolds a BA in Art History & Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She has worked in publishing, as a translator, as a curator and has collaborated with the Athens Photo Festival. She had the gallery space cats&marbles in Athens between 2004 and 2009.

Her  home has no boundaries, her heart is anchored in many places. She is half Greek half Brazilian, born in London, grew up in Paris and Rio de Janeiro, studied in London and came to Greece in 1999. She finally settled in Aegina in 2012 somewhat by chance, with her partner Yanis with whom she created The Cool Projects in 2013. Soon after arriving on the island she discovered the art of ceramics with ceramicist Theodora Chorafas, a passion with a sure future.

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In September 2021, together with Theodora Chorafas and HP Coulon, she co-organised the International Slipware Symposium: two weeks of co-creation on the workshop, materclasses, presentiations and two exhibitions. The event was beautifully covered by Oliwia Tado in a video tyhat can be seen here.

Statement

It is in Aegina that I discovered ceramics. With this discovery, I realised that my feeling of being rooted is linked to the land on which I walk rather than to a country that I can call mine. I do not have a home country, nor do I have one single tongue. I feel at ease everywhere, I express myself in many different languages. Clay has offered me a sense of home.

The island of Aegina has a long tradition of pottery making. This world opened up to me through Theodora Chorafas, a talented ceramicist who has been living on the island for decades. I took my first steps with her; she very generously shared her experience, sensitivity and passion as well as her studio with me. An invitation to become part of a large family, which I accepted with deep enthusiasm.

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It is with a deep sense of respect, patience and fascination that I delved into clay. It is with humility and a meditative approach that I work the clay. I need time to listen and enter into a dialogue with it; to let my hands find the rhythm and the pressure, to start shaping the humid earth with lightness and precision, freedom and consciousness. I need to be present in the here and now, to breathe with it. My hands, my fingers, my whole body breathe with the clay: every inhale and exhale  are present in my cups, plates, sculptures, in their shape and simple decoration. The whole process fascinates me and gives me roots.

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I mainly work with a combination of the pinch pot, coiling and slab techniques, finding more interest in the form, and the exploration of the materials. I still feel like a child at the very beginning of a long, creative journey filled with the need and the desire to explore.https://vimeo.com/873254126