ILIODORA MARGELLOS
Hercules is a Girl
Sunset Goddess (ATLAS) (2018)
Conceived as a single installation called Hercules is a Girl the works present three female artists’
interpretations of the Labours of Hercules. These works showcase the artists’ conceptual practices, which at their core explore the modern human condition. The Labours of Hercules are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Hercules. They were accomplished over 12 years at the service of King Eurystheus. These labours symbolize the tasks in one’s life. As Hercules complete one by one task, he learns more about himself and his abilities. These labours symbolize one’s life and the obstacles that one faces through out his/hers life.
Iliodora Margellos presents a series of new works based on her own interpretation of three of the Labours of Hercules. The group show title ‘Hercules is a Girl’ attributes a gender twist to the viewer’s understanding of her featured works. Margellos uses embroidery and weaving as a mixed metaphor to subvert traditions and interpret the victories of a masculine hero through the eye of a needle. The works exhibited resemble oil paintings on canvas but in fact they
are woven with threads and beads sewn on canvas or metal screens. The use of the metal screen as the basis of her embroidery is a recent technique employed by the adding to her
continuous interest in the coupling of domestic and industrial materials and soft and hard surfaces.