“I try to make my art as visually attractive as possible to arrest the gaze. They’re designed to stop you in your tracks and hold your attention, and I’ll use what I have to in order to get them to do that. The images are open-ended and have no specific narrative, they’re universal signs that anyone could understand. I take my starting point from flora and fauna from the island of Cyprus, my country of origin. These paintings show almond blossoms I saw there a while ago. I couple these natural elements with abstract motifs. The paintings have an impact that describes the process of looking, whilst you’re looking at it. They have a trippy aspect and are also like religious motifs. They could be mystical signs for infinity or the latest pop album cover. There’s a deliberate ambiguity in the signs and what they represent. These works from my Exstacy Almond Blossom series were the first instances where I combined my abstract and figurative paintings. I see the different styles – figuration and abstraction – as the two strands of art that describe reality.”