Narcissus became a flower

1. Michael Zavros, Discobolus with a Z, 2021, black patinated bronze, 54 x 92 x 31 cm. Photo Mark Pokomy. Copyright Michael Zavros, courtesy Michael Zavros & Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney/Singapore. / 2. Michael Zavros, Summer Garden with a Z, 2021, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm. Photo Michael Zavros. Copyright Michael Zavros, courtesy Michael Zavros & Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney/Singapore. / 3. Michael Zavros, Mock Orange, 2014, oil on board, 40 x 35 cm. Photo Michael Zavros. Copyright Michael Zavros, courtesy Michael Zavros & Starkwhite, Auckland. / 4. Michael Zavros, Z, 2014, etching on paper, 27 x 17.5 cm. Photo Michael Zavros. Copyright & courtesy Michael`Zavros. 

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“This culture of relentless self-optimisation extends beyond physical appearance and encompasses every dimension of the self. But there is no one, fixed ideal. We choose, construct, edit, and validate our self in relation to shifting ideals and ideas. We live on the shifting sands of reality, truth, and facts. The more we learn about the dual behaviour of matter through quantum physics, and the more the spoils of technological ‘progress’ are weaponised in deepfakes and disinformation-for-hire, the more the structure we rely upon slips through our fingers. What if there is no good, no right, no true, no real? Who are we? What are we all doing? We can only believe what we see, and we can only see ourselves. No matter where you go, there you are. We are trapped in a house of mirrors, and there is no escape. Far from claiming to be the virtuous one, Zavros offers himself up on a silver platter for critique. But, of course, we can only see ourselves. Is Zavros Narcissus, and we the lake, or is it the other way around?”