Art

Brain and Chain/Αλυσοδεμενος Εγκεφαλος
‘Brain and Chain’ illustration by Angela Zafiris

My drawing was inspired by the topic of mental health. In the past few years there has been an increase of people struggling with mental health issues.

Historically a ball and chain was used to restrict a prisoner’s freedom. We use the phrase figuratively when someone or something is limiting our progress. For those that have mental health issues the brain can be like a ball with the constant negative thought patterns, and other symptoms that can be debilitating for some people.

“Mental illness… occurs when our mental health is compromised or neglected for so long that it affects our ability to function in our everyday life.” -Kati Morton

Το σχέδιό μου εμπνεύστηκε από το θέμα της ψυχικής υγείας. Τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει παρατηρηθεί αύξηση των ανθρώπων που παλεύουν με προβλήματα ψυχικής υγείας.

Ιστορικά, μια μπάλα και μια αλυσίδα χρησιμοποιούνταν για να περιορίσουν την ελευθερία ενός κρατουμένου. Χρησιμοποιούμε τη φράση μεταφορικά όταν κάποιος ή κάτι περιορίζει την πρόοδό μας. Για όσους έχουν προβλήματα ψυχικής υγείας, ο εγκέφαλος μπορεί να είναι σαν μια μπάλα με τα συνεχή αρνητικά μοτίβα σκέψης και άλλα συμπτώματα που μπορεί να είναι εξουθενωτικά για ορισμένους ανθρώπους.

«Η ψυχική ασθένεια… εμφανίζεται όταν η ψυχική μας υγεία διακυβεύεται ή παραμελείται για τόσο μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα που επηρεάζει την ικανότητά μας να λειτουργούμε στην καθημερινή μας ζωή». – Kati Morton

Waterfall of Thoughts
‘Waterfall of Thoughts’ handmade collage by Angela Zafiris

I really didn’t know what to title this. I was just having fun. Sometimes I am not driven by some emotion or idea that I want to convey through art. It can be intuitive too.

“The mind reflects the world, and the world reflects the mind”. -James Pierce

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”. -Marcus Aurelius

On the Verge of Extinction?
‘Extinct Species’ illustration by Angela Zafiris

Lately, there has been a lot of talk in the scientific community about an asteroid called ‘2024 yr4’. There were fears that the asteroid could strike our planet and cause great destruction in the year 2032.

However, after studying the asteroid for two months, scientists now say that the asteroid poses no threat to our planet.

This news had me thinking about one particular species that were wiped out by an enormous asteroid. The dinosaurs first appeared on the earth over 200 million years ago and around 66 million years ago, an asteroid about 6 miles wide struck the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. This massive impact caused ecosystems to die off, and with no plant life the dinosaurs died off due to starvation.

History tends to repeat itself. We homosapiens are the dominant species on earth right now, just like the dinosaurs once were. What if we were to suffer the same fate?

There could be survivors, but I don’t think that our popluation will ever reach 8 billion again.

Survival of the…
“Survival of the…” illustration by Angela Zafiris

Survival of the fittest? Strongest? Craziest? Most deluded? Resilient? Most fortunate?

What does it take to survive in these uncertain times?

“The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or changing conditions.|”-Dave Smalley

A.I Generated Me

A few weeks before he passed away, my cousin had created these images using A.I. He was a graphic designer and a genius with computers. Our family likes to joke that he was one of the first who owned a home computer decades ago. I thought it was unusual he would make these images. I think that he may have known his time was coming.

I do love these images. I feel that he really captured who I am as well as my cat Angelo (haha) I myself don’t know how to make these kinds of images. I prefer to use my hands to make art. I love that the process can be painstaking, but rewarding as well. You feel productive like you’re using all of your creative brain power.

Many people have warned about the dangers of A.I technology. That people won’t be able to distinguish between human generated content and A.I generated content. I haven’t not had a problem so far, as I can immediately spot the difference. I believe that people will always prefer content made from a human. I don’t believe all of the fear-mongering surrounding it so much, time will tell..

Apex Predators
‘Apex Predators’ surreal collage by Angela Zafiris

It’s a dangeous world out there, especially for women and children. If the wild animals don’t get you, than the predatorial men will.

‘The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.’-Albert Einstein