Common Knowledge is the first solo show of Greek artist Paola Palavidi and consists of ten oil paintings on wood. Her new body of work explores how we perceive our existence in the world that surrounds us, as it is shaped in modern life due to the development of science, technology and the ample supply of all sorts of information and scientific data.

 

Palavidi draws her inspiration from encyclopedic images, familiar scenes that portray people in everyday activities from childhood to adulthood. The artist depicts in these commonplace pictures of classrooms and workplaces a fictional space of the evolution of human thought using a variety of interconnected knowledge and information.

 

Unlike knowledge which means extensive and in depth understanding of a particular subject, acquiring information does not require in depth knowledge of a subject and can be obtained instantly. Human history is full of this kind of information and it is represented in Palavidi’s works with the exuberant use of symbols and objects that make up a new way of thinking, a new brain mapping.

 

Paola Palavidi (b. 1986, Athens) completed a BA in Art and Design at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London. She has participated in several group exhibitions either individually or through collaboration. Marriage, Qbox, 2013; Nekyia (two person show), Qbox, 2011; Symbiosis, Biennale of Young Creators from Europe and the Mediterranean, 2011 while this is her first solo show. She lives and works in Tinos, Greece.

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