DEO Projects | Chios, Greece
On the occasion of its 5th anniversary, DEO presents the exhibition Once We Were Gardens at the historic Karaviko estate in Kampos, Chios. The exhibition examines the inevitable cycles of growth and decay, exploring the deterioration of bodies, ideas, spaces, and relationships through the evocative symbolism of the garden. SAHA supports Yaşam Şaşmazer’s new works from Once we were series.
Yaşam Şaşmazer presents three new carved wooden busts – a quiet homage to those who once lived, worked on or passed through Karavas estate. From the Karavas family and former owners, to writers, poets, labourers and caretakers, these figures represent a layered human presence that still lingers in the garden’s architecture, its soil and its silences. The busts series, launched in 2017, draws on personal, collective and imagined histories. Carved from wood – a living, organic material – the sculptures embody the passage of time. Cracks, waping and variations in colour are not flaws, but part of the vocabulary. They speak of erosion, transformation and the fragility of memory. These are not traditional portraits. The faces are partially erased, their features blurred or worn away. This gradual disappearence reflects the way we forget – unevenly and often tenderly. Each bust becomes a vessel for what fades: memory, presence, the trace of lives lived. Covered in patches of fungi and moss, the sculptures return to nature while retaining their form. Their gradual decomposition defies idealisation. No celebration of permanence here – only reverence for what breaks down, reformats and returns to the earth. These figures incarnate impermanence and vulnerabilty – reminding us of the beauty in what fades, collapses and quietly transforms over time.
Yaşam Şaşmazer ,completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Sculpture. Heavily invested in the conflicts arising between “I” and “the other” during the early periods of her artistic career, Şaşmazer’s recent works continue to explore these polarities in the light of the reciprocal relationships that are shaped between human beings, non-human entities and nature. The artist’s works comprise sculptures and installations that are predominantly produced with natural materials such as wood, clay, paper and papier-mâché, including also organic and found materials as mushrooms, seaweeds, lichens, earth, rocks, tree branches and roots. Şaşmazer’s figurative sculptures focus on the human body.
About DEO Projects
DEO Projects was established in 2021 and is a registered non-profit cultural organization located on the island of Chios, Greece.It stands as the sole contemporary art entity on the island, boasting a diverse range of programs that encompass solo and group exhibitions, artist residencies, public commissions, educational activities, and collaborations with both public and private entities such as historical monuments, local museums, associations, and non-institutional spaces.
