Artist profile: Froso Papadimitriou

An example of Froso’s artwork hangs as the centrepiece chandelier in the Mansion’s Atrium

The Mansion houses a small community of artists. Their studios are private but may be visited on open days. Froso Papadimitriou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. In 2006 she completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Middlesex University, followed by an MA in Arts Management at Birkbeck University. Froso experiments with multiple art forms and has collaborated with galleries worldwide. You may already be familiar with her work as an example hangs in the Atrium.

Tell us about your back story

Creating, or better ‘experimenting’, is something I’ve always been keen on. According to my parents, I always had a tendency to make, dismantle and reconstruct objects; usually not the way they were before and definitely not functioning anymore – so all valuable items in the house were hidden until my late teens. Even in my early years at school, I was left to my own devices to make things – in order to be kept quiet.

However, art was not part of my future aspirations as a child. I studied Science and was aiming to become a pilot, but somehow ended up on a graphic design course. That, and love for comics, ignited my creative explorations. From there, I relocated to London for a Fine Art course and I have been an art maker ever since.

What inspires you?

Potential and possibilities.

Why did you choose the Mansion?

I heard about the Mansion from another resident artist. I chose it due to its location within the park and also being a resident in such a building is fascinating. The space fits exactly my needs as a maker and being surrounded by nature provides me with a serene environment to work in.

Tell us about your art hanging in the Atrium: ‘Slow the much oil’ Art installation Thread, fabric, ink and pigments on recycled canvas and bicycle wheel For this work I have borrowed the silhouette of an imposing object of beauty and wealth, such as a chandelier/lamp, which has been used as a symbol to demonstrate wealth and power. However, this chandelier is made out of found and recycled materials and depicts images of a decline and destress of the modern times.

This work is aiming to raise questions about the relevance of values, beliefs and symbols we have inherited from our past to our contemporary life.

What does your typical day look like? Froso in her studio

I usually arrive at midday and work in the studio until late hours. When the weather is nice the park becomes quite a temptation and I have occasionally worked outdoors or instead of actually working I have cycled around the park and had a few picnics instead.

What are your career highlights?

The major projects I have been involved are:

APSF Asia Pacific Science Fiction Convention – Group exhibition by Singularity Gallery, Science and Technology Museum of Beijing, China
‘DADA no DADA’ an international photographic exhibition at the Refugees’ Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece.
‘Tomorrow’s Child’; a group exhibition at The Houses of Parliament, campaigning in support of children’s’ mental health and wellbeing.
‘and with the marks on my hand I will tell you my story… Hajichi’, an art residency, solo exhibition and lecture at Arcade Art studio & Space in Okinawa, Japan.
‘Painting and Beyond’ exhibition in Taipei Taiwan, where I was invited by the National Taiwan Normal University to give a series of lectures

What are you working on at the moment?

I have several upcoming collaborations with other organisations such as:

Group exhibition at Singularity Gallery, Guangzhou China
Article feature at ISSUE Histories. An Everyday Practice, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart Germany https://schloss-post.com/how-do-we-relate-to-our-past/
‘Kunst I’m Dialog’ project, Landshut, Germany