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Eirini Boutasi

On May 15, the installation produced by Eirini Boustasi during his residency at the ‘ace Foundation was presented at’ aceNITE. The work on paper made with the waterless photolithography technique was built by combining 7 matrices systematized, resulting in a large 3 m2 cloth in which the original forms are subtly transformed into a gestural dance.
Facing and accompanying the rhythm of the system, the video made with the assistance of Javier Bilatz (Argentina) turns the same lines created by Eirini into motion. The musicalization is by the Argentine composer, pianist and director Oscar Edelstein (La Paz, Argentina) and the voice of the singer, artist and performer Deborah Claire Procter (Cardiff, Wales).

Erini Boutasi is the first Greek artist to work on ´ace. Although in times of globalization the origin by birth of an artist is disrupted by her experiences of constant transfer from one place to another. This is the case of Eirini who studied in Wales and has carried out residencies in Berlin, now in Argentina and will live the next two years in the United States while working at the famous Tamarind Institute. Eirini is a subtle and minimalist artist, an expert in lithography, who uses the perfection of her technique to underline the poetic content of her work, which combines both: spontaneity and mathematical rigor.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In my recent work I have used the potential for variation and repetition of engraving. The drawings on the printing surface are printed respecting a strict sequence that follows a pre-established arithmetic system of combinations. The drawing itself is quick, organic, and personal as opposed to the system I follow for printing. Fast drawing allows me not to think. Not thinking is memory. Quick and in-process drawings mean constant change, lack of commitment, indeterminacy, no understanding.

Just playing with the numbers, I intertwine shapes and let them surprise me. It is a game or exercise of stripping the result that I accept as it is. I choose to draw and print in square format. The square being self-contained, defies my intention to achieve an indeterminate drawing. Furthermore, the fixed and neutral figure of the square exposes the composition and enhances its indeterminacy. From expression to self-determination.

Neat marks, automatic writing, no sense.