Ilias Toliadis

Travelling Talismans: An Exhibition of Drawing, painting and sculpture

“Travelling Talismans” is an interdisciplinary thesis project that explores the meaning of talismanic objects in contemporary art and their integration in my studio practice. Drawing on my own autobiographical experiences as a migrant artist, this research explores the intersections between mobility, memory and cultural identity. The main objective of this thesis is to introduce new methodologies for actualizing and materializing the hidden meaning of talismanic objects and their potential for evoking conversations and reflections about questions of cultural identity for the travelling—or nomadic— contemporary artist. To this end, I draw on four distinct media in my studio practice: namely, wooden sculpture, collage-based paintings, text-based wall interventions and drawings. I hope to uncover some poetic values through an interdisciplinary investigation of talismanic objects.