Pelli

TITLE: Pelly

SIZE: 60cm x 50cm | 24 inch x 20inch

MATERIALS: acrylic on canvas

In 2016, while traveling with my family on the island of Crete, I discovered a magical glass workshop and restaurant. Everything there — from the lamps to the dishes — was made of colorful blown glass, as if in a fairytale. One evening, I met a young woman named Pelli, the daughter of the master glassblower. She served us with such warmth that I decided to paint her portrait. Later, we became friends, and years after, I returned to Crete to gift her a calendar with her portrait inside — a gesture that touched her deeply.

The painting also carries the timeless symbolism of the pomegranate. From the myths of ancient Greece, it is known that the pomegranate fruit grants immortality. One legend says that the goddess of love, Aphrodite, planted the first pomegranate tree in Cyprus. This is why, at Greek weddings, the breaking of a pomegranate symbolizes fertility.

Thus, the portrait of Pelli becomes intertwined with the myth of the pomegranate — a symbol of love, fertility, and eternal life.