betwixt and between, Evangelia Ntouni

This work was born from my urge to deal with the liminal space I am
experiencing. Transitioning from one life phase to the next one. Leaving a
world and entering another.
The initial spark for this project was ignited by traditional old
doorknockers found in my hometown Athens. These are usually cast from
bronze and depict a female hand holding a sphere: heavy and hard, cold
to the touch, but also small and delicate. They are fixed onto wooden
doors with the sphere against the surface: arrival is signalled,
permission to enter is asked.
The wooden surface is a threshold – to enter from the outside: I lead
myself into a new space.
A passage from one room to the other, from one situation to the next:
representing transitory phases in life – rites of passage. The passage
creates the liminal space; the movement through embodies the
transition.
The installation consists of a large handmade table and plaster casts of
my hands holding different parts of my body are placed on it. Some parts
are easy to recognise, whether others appear abstract at sight, what they
depict is difficult to allocate. Located inside a room with two opposing
doors: the table takes up the whole space – the access is blocked; the
function of the table is denied.
The hands are a kind of multiple uniques. Each one of them is casted
once and depicts my body in a unique moment in time. The holding hand
is always the same, but not identical. The body parts being held appear
only once.
The table, a communal space of gathering and exchange, conversation
and collective experiences is stripped of its original purpose. The
installation can only be experienced through the doors. The table can no
longer be used as such and is transformed into a surface defining the
space for the transition.