Greek Migration: The Poet Arion Sails Through Sydney Heads, 2014
Glazed cast translucent porcelain with Xin Cai painting and 24ct gold foil on stopper. Made by the artist in Jingdezhen, China.
Before WWII there were restrictions on Greek migration to Australia but the situation changed after Britain offered the Greek people a safe haven in any of it colonies. The war devastated the Greek economy and after a bitter civil war broke out leaving the already beleaguered nation fighting among themselves. Migration only eased off in 1974 after the fall of Papadopoulos regime and the inclusion of Greece into the European Union giving some stability to the Aegean.
Arion was another Greek poet operating in Lesbos around 600 BC. Legend has it that he was kidnapped by pirates, thrown into the sea and miraculously rescued by the dolphins.
