Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva - We are Shadows

Over the past decade Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva has developed a reputation for producing ambitious and complex sculptural installations. Central to her practice has been a desire to respond to the particularities of a given location, be it in terms of industry, community or (natural) environment. Hadzi-Vasileva’s compulsion for responding to location has resulted in the production of a staggeringly varied body of work, incorporating sculpture, installation, video, photography and architectural interventions.

Hadzi-Vasileva’s practice can be characterised by her use of particular materials and by the level of industry and resourcefulness employed in production. As Alison Wilding observes: “Over the years, Elpida’s unexpected materials (watercress, fish skins, amongst other organic membranes) and equally unorthodox processes have come close to making textiles, carpets and lace; in her hands they have a manipulated and drawn quality.”  ‘ We are Shadows’ continues with the artist’s interest in site, in terms of history and culture. Unit 2 is located opposite what could be considered to be the East End’s most famous street, Brick Lane. This area of the East End is renowned for having become, at various times, home to various generations of immigrants - from Huguenots and Irish to Jewish and more recently Bangladeshi communities. This location also resonates for Hadzi-Vasileva, as she migrated from Macedonia to Britain during the early 1990s. As a result, Hadzi-Vasileva is all too aware that below the surface of what is frequently celebrated as a ‘multi-cultural’ environment exist the histories and lives of communities imbued with the realities of loss, struggle, conflict and survival. In her first solo show in London, Hadzi-Vasileva will present a new installation commissioned by Unit 2 Gallery in which chicken skins have undergone a laborious process of chemically induced drying and hand-stitching to form a large canopy-like structure within the space.

The exhibition was accompanied by an illustrated brochure and text by artist Alison Wilding.

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