Bondi’s famous ‘Sculptures by the Sea’ exhibition will have a Greek wave, this year, with award-winning Greek artist Danai Nikolaidi Kotsaki having one of her sculptures displayed.
Danai Nikolaidi Kotsaki, who graduated from the prestigious School of Fine Arts of Athens, is the recipient of the inaugural $20,000 Greek Artist Program for Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, 2019.
The Greek Artist Program for Sculpture’s by the Sea was developed by The Hellenic Club Sydney and members of Sydney’s Greek Australian community, with support from the Mayor of Waverley, Ms Paula Masselos.
The program is also coordinated by the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, with aims to “showcase Greek artistic talent and contribute to helping Greece’s standing in the global arts world.”
The recipient artist must be a student or graduate (within 10 years of completing their degree) of a University-level School of Fine Arts from Greece, in order to be eligible for the program.
Danai Nikolaidi-Kotsaki was born in Athens in 1992. She went to the Experimental Music High School and Lyceum of Pallini and studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts of Athens with Professor George Lappas.
Danai says her work is “inspired by the concept of ‘the journey’ as both a fantasy and as lived experience, and exploring the point of separation between reality and fantasy.”
“I am also interested in exploring the idea of how our senses respond to movement and distance,” she says.
Her work primarily tackles physicality and interaction. The installations and sculptures she creates are movable, invested with her own compositions and sound environments, sometimes producing sound themselves through motion and performance. The main material of her work is metal, but she also uses a wide range of other expressive means and techniques.
“The foundation of my practice is a constant search for a new perception and understanding of vision, hearing, space and time. I aim to activate the sensory system and emotions of the public through my work,” says Danai.
“As a result my artworks are designed to become an interactive physical experience for the viewer.”
She is also passionate about including traditional and classical Greek themes throughout her art.
“Beyond my academic studies in sculpture, I have studied the expressive art forms in traditional Greek and classical music, contemporary dance and circus acrobatics. As a result I am particularly interested in local cultures and traditions,” Danai says.
Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi is the world’s largest annual free-to-the-public outdoor sculpture exhibition, which celebrates its 23rd anniversary this year, returning to the spectacular Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk from 24 October – 10 November 2019.
