Exercise: Locating My Practice, and Creative and Critical Strategies
Locating My Practice
My creative practice is situated between autobiographical storytelling, myth reinterpretation, and reflective practice-led research. The project The Bird Who Came From Afar functions as the central conceptual framework through which I explore themes of migration, identity, and personal transformation. The bird operates as an autobiographical alter ego representing my lived experience of movement between countries, cultures, and landscapes.
A key narrative framework informing my practice is The Odyssey, attributed to Homer. The Odyssey presents the journey of Odysseus as a sequence of encounters that shape the identity of the traveller. Within my project, this mythic structure functions as a metaphor for contemporary experiences of migration and personal development. Just as Odysseus moves through unfamiliar lands and encounters different cultures, my own journey across various countries becomes a modern interpretation of this ancient narrative structure.
My understanding of the journey is also strongly influenced by the poetry of C. P. Cavafy, particularly the poem Ithaka, which reflects on the meaning of the journey itself. Cavafy suggests that the value of Ithaca lies not in the destination but in the experiences gained along the way. This idea resonates deeply with my own life experience, where travel and migration have become sources of learning, reflection, and creative inspiration.
Another important influence on my practice is the work of Nikos Kavvadias, whose poetry explores the emotional landscapes of travel, exile, and distance. Kavvadias frequently writes about sailors and wanderers who move between places and cultures, carrying memories and stories from one shore to another. His work reflects a similar sense of movement and exploration that is central to my project.
My practice therefore exists at the intersection of myth, poetry, and lived experience, where ancient narrative structures become tools for interpreting contemporary journeys.
Creative Strategies
The creative strategies guiding my work include autobiographical storytelling, symbolic imagery, visual documentation, and reflective writing.
Autobiographical narrative forms the foundation of my practice. My experiences of migration, professional craft training, and cultural encounters are transformed into stories that explore questions of identity, belonging, and personal transformation. These narratives are often structured through mythic frameworks derived from the Odyssey, allowing contemporary experiences to be interpreted through classical storytelling traditions.
Symbolic imagery is another important element. The bird in The Bird Who Came From Afar functions as a symbolic figure representing movement, observation, and transformation. As the project develops, this symbol may evolve by incorporating characteristics of birds from the different countries that have shaped my journey.
Photography also plays a role in documenting landscapes and environments connected to my travels. These visual elements complement the written narratives and contribute to the development of the project’s visual language.
Reflective writing allows me to examine my experiences through a creative and philosophical lens. Through writing, personal memories and encounters become part of a narrative process that connects the present with historical and mythological traditions.
Critical Strategies
The critical dimension of my work is informed primarily by Greek literary, philosophical, and dramatic traditions, which provide conceptual frameworks for understanding journey, identity, and transformation.
The Odyssey itself can be understood as one of the earliest narratives of migration and cultural encounter. Odysseus moves between different lands and societies, encountering unfamiliar customs and challenges. This narrative structure continues to resonate with contemporary experiences of migration, where identity is shaped through encounters with different cultures and environments.
Greek philosophy also informs my approach to reflection and knowledge. The classical Greek maxim attributed to Socrates, “Know thyself,” highlights the importance of self-examination and reflection, which are central to my creative process. Through writing and artistic exploration, I attempt to understand my experiences and translate them into narrative form.
Greek drama also explores themes of displacement, identity, and destiny. The figure of Helen in Greek mythology, particularly within narratives connected to the Trojan War, represents how individuals can become symbolic figures within larger cultural stories of migration, desire, and conflict. These traditions demonstrate how mythological narratives continue to influence cultural imagination and storytelling.
Within my project, these classical traditions provide a critical framework for exploring how ancient narratives can be reinterpreted through contemporary autobiographical storytelling. By drawing on myth, poetry, and philosophical reflection, my work attempts to connect personal experience with a broader cultural heritage.
Craft, Knowledge, and the Greek Concept of
Techne
An additional framework informing my practice comes from the ancient Greek concept of τέχνη (techne), which refers to craft, skill, and the knowledge developed through making. In classical Greek thought, techne describes a form of knowledge that emerges through practice, experience, and mastery of a craft.
This idea is particularly relevant to my own life journey. My professional background in textile production and knitwear technology has provided the practical foundation that enabled my movement across different countries and cultural contexts. Craft, in this sense, has functioned as both a profession and a vehicle for migration.
Understanding craft through the concept of techne allows me to connect my professional experience with the intellectual traditions of Greek thought. Just as ancient Greek thinkers recognised craft as a form of knowledge, my own experiences suggest that practical skills can generate forms of understanding that shape creative thinking and cultural perception.
Within my project, techne becomes an important bridge between craft practice, narrative reflection, and cultural identity, connecting my professional life with the philosophical heritage of Greek thought.
Odysseus as Storyteller: The Moment of Narrative
An important moment in The Odyssey occurs when Odysseus reaches the land of the Phaeacians. After many trials and wanderings, he does not simply arrive as a traveller; he becomes the storyteller of his own journey. In the court of King Alcinous, he recounts the episodes that shaped him: the Lotus-Eaters, the Cyclops, Circe, Aeolus, and the many landscapes and forces that defined his odyssey.
This moment is particularly meaningful for my own practice. Like Odysseus, who pauses his journey in order to narrate what he has experienced, my project becomes a space where lived experiences of travel, migration, and cultural encounter are transformed into narrative. The act of storytelling allows the traveller to interpret the meaning of the journey, turning memory and experience into knowledge.
I do not think of a particular place as my Phaeacia. Rather, I think of my audience as the court of Alcinous. My blog becomes the table around which listeners gather — as if wine and food were shared — and the story is told. In this sense, The Bird Who Came From Afar becomes my own Phaeacian moment: not a geographical location, but a narrative setting in which the wanderer sits among listeners and gives voice to the journey. Through this process, storytelling becomes both a creative act and a way of understanding identity, connecting personal experience with the long tradition of mythic narrative.
Reflection
Working through the resources Locating Your Practice, Creative Strategies, and Critical Strategies has helped me clarify how my creative practice connects with my cultural heritage and lived experiences. My work brings together several strands: autobiographical storytelling, mythic narrative structures, migration experience, and craft knowledge developed through professional practice.
Through this process I am beginning to understand how my project can function as a dialogue between personal experience and classical tradition, where ancient Greek narratives and philosophical ideas continue to inform contemporary reflections on identity, travel, and cultural encounter.
These strategies will guide the development of my self-directed project as I continue to explore how modern journeys of migration can be interpreted through myth, poetry, craft, and creative reflection.
Alexander's blog 