Meeting Point 01: ΕΜΣΤ | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens

Maria Tsagkari, I Couldn’t Bear Living Without You, 2017, installation, natural human hair, wooden poles, acrylic paint, variable dimensions, Collection of ΕΜΣΤ | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens

The art installation “I Couldn’t Bear Living Without You” by Maria Tsagari was created in 2017. It is an artwork of variable dimensions, approximately the length of a large passenger car and about the height of an adult woman. The installation is composed of natural human hair, a wooden pole, and acrylic paint.

At the centre of the artwork, a long wooden pole is placed horizontally at a short distance from the wall, casting shadows as light falls upon the installation. Black human hair hangs from the pole, braided, stitched, and fastened to it with nails. The hair falls vertically, forming latin letters that spell out the phrase “I couldn’t bear living without you.” Below, on the floor, cut locks of hair lie scattered and irregularly arranged, in stark contrast to the carefully groomed hair suspended from the pole. In the background, a long wall extends across the composition, painted with broad, rough brushstrokes in an intense yellow hue.

In her artistic practice, Maria Tsagari frequently employs materials that are directly connected to the human body, memory and identity. In this artwork, human hair functions as a carrier of both personal and collective history. The artist has spoken about the act of cutting hair, as one that has historically been associated with transition, mourning, punishment, submission, or sacrifice.

The phrase “I couldn’t bear living without you,” formed by the hair, invites a double reading. While it initially appears intimate and tender, it gradually becomes charged with tension and darker connotations. The hair evokes loss, separation, and self-sacrifice, while the locks on the floor serve as traces of what has been cut away and lost. The artwork may be interpreted as a silent protest against separation from one’s homeland and the experience of violent transition, as well as an act of transformation in which loss coexists with hope for freedom and a better future.

The creative description of the artwork “I Couldn’t Bear Living Without You” by Maria Tsagari is the result of co-creation by the participants in Meeting Point 01: MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art.

Find out more about the project: