This photographic installation, titled ‘Kleos’, is an outcome of Kalpaxi’s long interest in photographic narratives. Is consists of a series of images of sculptures from the Archaeological Museum of Athens, which is mainly known for its collection of ‘Kouroi’, male sculptures from the classic period. In-between the sculptures, images of hands complete the series with actions that transform the sculptures into active participants in a story of war. In its visual appearance and structure, the series borrows elements from epic poetry and the aesthetics of modernism, which also coincides with the wider interest in the Ancient Greek world. It is also draws on the idealisation of war within and outside in art and the current interest in re-evaluating the objectivity of history.

Elisavet Kalpaxi is an artist and a lecturer, currently teaching at Bucks New University. Her discursive interests lie with practice-based research in art and photography’s contemporary criticality. In 2012 she completed a practice-based PhD at Goldsmiths College, Department of Art, focusing on photographic narrativity, a concern that is still reflected in her art. Her work, theoretical and practical, has been presented in a number of exhibitions and conferences in the UK and internationally.