I Couldn’t Bear Living Without You
2017
The work is displayed as part of the permanent exhibition
Sculpture/ 3D object
Natural human hair, wooden poles, acrylic paint
Variable dimensions
Inv. No.1416/22
Maria Tsagkari (1981, Piraeus, Greece) experiments with various materials, media, and techniques in her work. She draws from everyday elements but also from cinema, literature, history, and microhistory. The unseen side of events, the ephemeral and fragile state of things, nature and human relationships are focal points in her practice. Her works are often composed of temporary materials, through which the artist addresses the concepts of time, decay, reuse, and transformation.
The installation I Couldn’t Bear Living Without you (2017) consists of human hair that the artist purchased in Istanbul. Hair has always held significant meaning for people throughout history. It is a crucial part of a person's identity and can represent power and sexuality. Hair-cutting has also held various meanings, such as being an offering deed, a sign of mourning, subjugation, punishment, and submission. Furthermore, it symbolises transitioning from one state to another and the forging of a new identity. Today, the cutting and commercialisation of hair are linked, among others, with the economic survival of marginalised individuals. The work’s ambiguous title evokes a sense of denial, emotional dependence, and submission. It also contrasts sharply with the harsh processes to which hair is submitted, the almost violent weaving and braiding, and the unknown story accompanying its cutting and selling. Through the work, the artist touches upon the issue of the relationship between the strong and the weak, of transition, and of the fluidity of social roles.
Maria Tsagkari was born in Piraeus. She studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA, 2006–2010). In 2007-2008, under a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), she attended the Facultad de Βellas Αrtes in Madrid and then embarked on the “Visual Arts” postgraduate programme at the Athens School of Fine Art. Her work has been shown in international exhibitions (selection): Elefsina Mon Amour, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, Elefsina (2023); AQUA – Contemporary Artists and Water Issues, SESC Belenzinho, São Paulo (2017-2018) and Château de Penthes, Geneva (2017); STANDART, 1st Triennial of Contemporary Art, Armenia (2017); Coup de Ville, Triennial of Contemporary Art, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium (2016); Everywhere but Now, 4th Biennale of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki (2013/2014); Afresh, A new generation of Greek artists, EMΣT | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2014). She has received various awards, including the ARTWORKS Artist Fellowship in 2019 and the 2014 HYam Young Mediterranean Artists Award in Paris.