An essay by Bernhard Boehler, curator of the 2014 exhibition of the Fishes series in Singapore

On Nikos Kypraios’s Still Lifes of Fish – An Approach to His Environmental Symbolism and Social Criticism

Bernhard A. Böhler

“The reason why I chose the fish as a symbol is because it has no voice, just as the people of today have a deafened voice.”[1]

Nikos Kypraios

Like the great ancient mathematician Pythagoras, Nikos is a son of the Greek island of Samos in the blue eastern Aegean Sea, where he was born in 1944. In 1972, he migrated to Melbourne, Australia, but returned to Greece in the early 1990s, now residing in Athens and Samos. Deeply influenced by artistic movements of the 20th century, such as Surrealism and Pop art, his early paintings express the isolation and solitude of a diaspora Greek feeling as estranged from the homeland as from the new environment. After his return to Greece, Nikos developed his new work, based on the appreciation for the Byzantine heritage and characteristic Byzantine light prevalent in the Greek landscape. Nikos’s art is freely expressive, the more so as he is a genuine freethinker. For his work he has received international recognition through numerous exhibitions in the United States, Australia, England, Austria, Belarus, Greece and Singapore. “The Ecstatic Breath of Freedom” is the official title of Nikos’s newest exhibition hosted by the Arts House. It is the second time that his paintings are on public display in Singapore, as he presented another group of works, his contemporary icons, at Sculpture Square in 2013.

American art critic Robert C. Morgan describes Nikos as a painter, whose subject matter varies from one series to another. “At times, his work carries a contemplative, lyrical or poignant quality, while on other occasions, a surging violence appears, a metaphorical angst as if to repel the injustices he believes are present in the world. […] In essence, Nikos Kypraios is an artist intent on helping to improve the human condition of which we are all a part.”^[2]

Nature and environment are amongst the most frequently recurring topics in Nikos’s oeuvre, and they also make up the central theme of this special exhibition, which is exclusively dedicated to the force and symbolism of the fish.

Along with fruits, fish are the artist’s major subject in still-life painting. Formally, Nikos follows the tradition of the classical memento mori still life, i.e. symbolic reminders of the inevitability of death. Robert C. Morgan correctly points out that one might regard these nature morte paintings as miniature landscapes. “Rather than sunlit fields or sublime forests, the fish and fruits appear more intimate. They are shown on a table within a small space where they hold a familiar light related to the mystical yellows and reds found in the earlier landscapes. Viewers have often suggested to Nikos that these paintings are simply still-life paintings as if there was no further symbolic comment. But this is not true. From the perspective of the artist, these paintings of dead fish and picked fruits refer to the breadth of human emotions, ranging from sadness to ecstatic joy.”[3]

Nikos’s focus is on the simple aspects of life. Nevertheless, he has the ability to raise metaphysical questions. This is part of the genius of the artist leading to the fundamental observation, as first paraphrased by Robert C. Morgan, that “his paintings are celebrations of this magnificent intuition, a way of getting into the truth of what matters.”[4] And with special reference to the fish and fruits, Morgan senses their innocence on the one hand, but at the same time also classifies them as “reminders of life passing in front of us and through us. We may question whether we have succeeded or failed to see ourselves in relation to the earth we inhabit. This is where the spiritual aspect of these simple paintings offers a convincing truth. Nikos gives beauty to his paintings and thereby allows us to reflect on the meaning of simple things and simple actions, of what we do, and how we become the creatures that we are.”[5] According to Morgan, Nikos “wants his paintings to read not as a public sensation but as a private evocation of the struggle between beauty and sanctity, between the earth and the sky, between the forces of good and evil.”[6]

Art requires the power of symbolism of the world, and it is by no means an absolute invention of the artistic spirit. Art is probably still more an intuition, i.e. insight into or deep look at the existing essence of things. Art is therefore bound objectively. It knows no arbitrariness. Such an objective basis also guarantees the comprehensibility of art. Genuine art will always be understandable for the congenial spirit, because it relates to given entities which art cannot change, but can only interpret. This interpretation is, however, a personal and subjective view, and hence offers an infinite variety of new aspects.

Nikos’s art is nothing else but the discovery of this intrinsic power and symbolism of all creatures inspired by the vision of the artist, and it is also its true expression in forms and colours. This insight seems to apply above all to his still lifes of fish.

Why is the symbol of the fish of such crucial importance for Nikos?

One has to bear in mind that fish have an exceptional significance in Nikos’s native country Greece, not only due to the fact that a lot of people’s lives are still dependent on fishing, but also because the ancient Greek word for fish, ἰχθύς (ichthýs), is a Christological symbol meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. In Christian iconography the fish is not only a zoomorph figure representing Christ, but it is also turned into the symbol of the faithful caught by Christ, who is the “fisher of the mortals”, and the Apostles, who are the “fishers of men”. The catch of fish is a symbol of the salvation of Christians from the dangerous sea in the world and a symbol of rebirth from the depths. The fact that the term “ichthýs” was used to refer to Christ is related to the above mentioned abbreviation of the name of Jesus Christ given in “ichthýs”. According to St. Augustine, Christ is the fish, because he lives and is alive both in the abyss of mortality and in the deep waters. He is the first fish who rose out of the sea and is enthroned in highest heaven to intercede for us. He is the fish who was lifted up from the depths of the sea and is being eaten on the “table”, quoting St. Augustine “because for this purpose he was lifted from the depths to feed the dry land.” The Eucharistic significance of the fish was thus already established in Early Christianity.[7] So Nikos could build on a very well-known traditional Christian imagery, when he adopted the theme of fish and developed it further in view of the challenges of his era.

The symbol of the fish is always aligned in two directions in Nikos’s art: from nature to the spirit implied on the one side, on the other side from the spirit to nature, while the spirit itself is incarnated by means of the symbol and expressed through it. Hence, in Nikos’s work a new creation comes into existence. He does not portray visible nature corresponding to the concept of mimesis, i.e. imitative representation of nature, but he leads nature to a rebirth in the spirit. Nikos’s cosmos of images is based on the Christian theology of creation and respect for the creation, God’s work, and cannot exist without it. His art is a discovery, interpretation and transformation of all creation into the natural human and natural spiritual world. From there he derived divine ideas and unleashed divine energies. Nikos discovered the original divine archetype in nature and liberated it in his art. His imagery consisting of highly symbolic references has also an intermediary character: between the spirit and nature, and between God and the world.

Imagination, creativity and spirituality can transform the artist into a visionary, a prophetic seer. Nikos possesses these characteristics. Quoting a solemn aphorism by the Austrian priest and legendary exegete of art Otto Mauer, the true artist has a higher calling: “Artist, liturgist, saint – perfectors of our cosmos, mystagogues of a coming world (translation, original quote in German)!”[8] Looking at Nikos’s pictures from this eschatological perspective, and bearing in mind the Christological importance of the fish symbol he adopted, enables us to discover the struggle for the oppressed kingdom of God on earth in his images. The future establishment of God’s kingdom on earth after the second coming of Jesus Christ will bring reconciliation between people and God, and extend that reconciliation throughout the world. Hatred and injustice will be replaced by the love and justice of God.

But in Nikos’s individual reflection of the fish symbol there are still more layers of significance to be detected, as Nikos soon began to use the fish as a symbol of the mortal human being. Furthermore, he generated an additional level of meaning by taking the cut-up fish as an expression for his deep concern for the suffering of humanity and the rapid deterioration of the environment and nature, whereby again a certain memory of the tortured body of Christ is immanent in his approach. Nikos portrays the maltreated creation in his art and dignifies it. Notwithstanding all the human careless and destructive interventions on the endangered treasures of nature and creation, some of the fish depicted are apparently alive, meaning that despite all adverse impacts on the environment God’s creation will overcome all difficulties and will prevail. Nikos’s message is a message of hope and one of resilience of nature and the human spirit.

Following another relevant interpretation of Nikos’s cut-up fish, given by Greek historian Christos Landros, less referring back to environmental philosophy but all the more to social criticism, this “deafening silence of the fish (translation, original quote in Greek)” expresses the artist’s concern for this world and mankind especially in view of the present financial crisis. It conveys his concern for the human who has a deafened voice, largely muzzled and slaughtered by the mass media, multinational corporations and impersonal markets, his concern for the man who is shattered by unscrupulous speculators and their roaring trade. Hence, the artist’s expressionism is also a political attitude to the situation of mankind today and at the same time a protest against the war and any kind of violence that happens in our time.[9]

Nikos is not only a vigilant observer but also a strong supporter of the concept of non-violence and its implications, including issues linked to the relation between security and vulnerability. Non-violent conflict prevention and crisis management are the fundamental preconditions for a life in peace with justice and reconciliation, hope and freedom. As mentioned above, the cup-up fish is a symbol of the crisis-ridden human in Nikos’s cosmos of images. But it is also a silent sign of protest against the excessive use of force, reckless exploitation and destruction of our planet. It is a protest against greed and ruthlessness in the world economy, which, as we painfully learned, is so fragile, though allegedly “too big to fail”. It is an appeal to the people to correct dangerous trends such as the merciless dictate of the shareholder value orientation. The concept of shareholder value in its purest form and the approach of the untamed neo-liberalism, i.e. idea of leaving basically everything up to the market forces, have failed miserably, as the latest financial, economic, confidence, and debt crisis would suggest. Nikos’s critique of modern civilization aims at the prevailing zeitgeist with its purely quantitative growth concept and blind faith in progress. Therefore, his art is also a call for more sanity and modesty. At the same time it is living proof that socio-critical art can “survive” in an increasingly commercialised environment.

Nikos is in constant dialogue with our age and its global problems, expressing his concern for the present and the future, in particular his deep concern for nature and environment harmed by human activity. The cut-up fish has also a socio-critical meaning, as it stands for the suffering, crisis-afflicted human itself in the 21st century. Nikos understands it as the artist’s mission to visualise socially relevant and socially critical issues and to use art as a kind of “tool of society” with which to expose serious deficits in the world. Therefore, his plea could read as follows: Only when humanity becomes determined enough to face these existential challenges and makes a first step towards self-critical enlightenment, it will be able to realise peace and reconciliation with its own existence on earth and to preserve this planet as an oasis of life, which is unique in the vastness of the universe.

Great works of the intellect are inexhaustible. Nikos’s art is considered to be such an example. Its intellectual dimensions are just as manifold as the symbolic references included, namely human, theological, social and political aspects. This is all the more remarkable, as Nikos has the creative power and artistic sensibility to develop great thoughts and visions out of small things. At the same time this miraculous ability is also a basic characteristic of the Greek civilization itself. Portraying the unique, priceless quality inherent in all things, the great Greek poet and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1979 Odysseus Elytis congenially expressed this vital meaning in his poem “To Axion Esti” (Worthy It Is), first published in 1959, by using only a few words, but in a way that is very much concentrated on the essential:

“THIS WORLD / this small, this great world!”[10]