48 Haikus on permanent display in Thessaloniki | Greece

Forty-eight Haikus are now permanently exhibited in the Music Department at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The work is presented for the first time in its physical format, ten years after its completion. Haikus (poems) by Gundega Šmite, inspired by these paintings, will also be installed soon. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Maria Alexandrou and Emilios Cambouropoulos for making this possible. I hope these works inspire the students of the Music Department to find new ways of expression, both within their musical space and beyond.

Haikus is a collection of digital paintings crafted using an iPhone. I don’t consider myself a painter, yet through painting, I rediscover the lost innocence of creating, liberated from the constraints of technique—any technique. This approach brings me a unique sense of joy and freedom. Haikus emerged during a time when composing music was out of reach, making painting a refuge for my existential survival. In this collection, I see myself as an artist on a quest to explore my own expressive—perhaps hidden—depths in the realms of the unexpected and unpredictable. By relinquishing the pursuit of technical perfection, I delve into the heart of creativity, where imperfection isn’t necessarily a flaw but a testament to the authenticity of one’s artistic journey. In this space, art becomes a mirror reflecting the unknown, unpredictable, ever-evolving nature of existence (or non-existence)  itself.