Τοπίο

001646 Nikos Yialouris, Landscape, 1996, Indian ink on paper, 50 × 65 cm

The theme of this particular drawing is Volissos and its castle. However, Yialouris is not interested in presenting the archaeological significance of the place from a touristic or archaeological point of view; nor in giving a picturesque—in the tourist sense—view of the village. As 1996 marks the seventh decade of his life, he is concerned to capture the passing of time, to detect the marks of time on human creations. Although Volissos is the largest village in northwestern Chios, the composition focuses on ruins, demolished traditional houses, full of rubbish, fallen stones and trees growing through the walls. The castle—not so imposing in the drawing—offers a similar, ruined view. Thus, the realistic but quite free depiction of Volissos becomes in fact an allegory. Without excesses, without using a pompous language, Yialouris expresses his concerns in the way he knows best: lines and black colour.