Page 67 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION 2022

discover|local people

Irene Syrianou

“TO FIND ME YOU WILL have to search for me”, is one of the first things this young woman says. She was
born and bred on Mykonos with close ties to Rhenia and Delos. Working as a young woman on Delos, she had the
good fortune of seeing the mosaics up close – and a magical relationship developed between her and them. Each and
every mosaic in the space entered her soul and she started to learn their craft, mentored and taught in her efforts
by mosaic creator and conservator Nikos Tolis. At present, Irene Syrianou together with just one partner – “with
whom we have the same hand” – makes everything from replicas of antiquities to contemporary visual creations in
her mosaic workshop and gift shop in Mykonos Town, behind the Gialos area. The tiles and anvil keep her company
throughout the summer. In recent years she has started teaching the craft of the mosaic in workshops organised by
the Municipality of Mykonos to dozens of students from the island, while she also participates in the “Agoni Grammi
Gonimi” programme, teaching at schools on distant small islands of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese. Through her
craft she feels that she is travelling in the same dream as all those who came from her land in the past, especially from
Delos. Irene Syrianou follows the ancient method of cutting tiles by hand and relies on the utilisation of recyclable
materials. Her work can be found in public spaces and private collections. Her mosaics can also be purchased in
archaeological museum gift shops throughout Greece. www.art-mosaic.gr

THE DELOS INSPIRATION
Irene Syrianou makes everything from replicas of antiquities to contemporary visual creations in her mosaic workshop and gift shop in Mykonos Town.
Mykonos Pop Up Store
Royal Myconian Hotel
Elia Beach, Mikonos,
066 MYCONIAN COLLECTION
Greece 846 00

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