We wandered into the cool white church of St Nicholas in Syros on a blistering hot day last summer, mainly to shelter from the midday heat. We stayed there for over an hour, entranced by the calm and peace of the place, the rainbow stained glass windows and the sheer fabulous bling of it all. For a relatively strict and formal religion, the orthodox churches don’t half pack in the ornate decoration, but this one in particular really blew my mind. The way the red, blue and yellow of the windows bounced rainbow prisms off the gold and silver adornments was magical, casting the kind of patterns across the floor that you might see in a nightclub with an enormous glitter ball!
For days and weeks afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing colours and lights of this church. We moved on to the remote Cycladian island of Amorgos, also with its elaborate churches, and where the stone pavements are painted with flower patterns outlined in white.
Back home, I kept thinking about the Greek churches and their vivid primary colours and use of light, as well as the very particular symbols of the orthodox church. I found it fascinating that such a specific and fairly strict religion should have such lavish and over-the-top decor! Such an intriguing mix. I wanted to recreate some of the colours, atmosphere and psychedelic light effects of those Greek churches and the island sunshine without slavishly recreating the scenario, and I just kept imagining those components with a beatsy soundtrack and that glitter ball, and so “Orthodox Disco!” was born.
Alongside the bright colours and geometric shapes of the stained glass, I’m using flower cut outs to represent the petal shapes and squiggles painted on Amorgean pavements. The current version is a test piece, with a view to incorporating light and projection as a larger installation at a future date.
It’s my homage to the Greek island life, the ubiquitous churches with their mixture of simplicity and ornate, and that amazing light and sunshine.
“Orthodox Disco!”
Currently exhibiting at Bloc Studios Sheffield as part of Prosaic97 curatorial project, Feb – March 2026
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