Elena Koulla was born in Limassol, Cyprus  in 1982.  She received her MFA degree in Fine Arts from Bristol University of West of England and her BFA in painting from Auburn University, U.S.A.  She now lives in Cyprus and works as an art teacher at a private school and at Limassol adult education centres. She presented her work in Cyprus, Greece, U.K and U.S.A. Her topics are diverse and have been moving back and forth between painting and sculpture, using new materials and processes, shifting from two dimensional space to three dimensional and addressing matters which concern the context of the work in relation to the viewer’s interpretation and interaction.            

The artist’s work is a direct result of her surroundings. As Elena explains: ‘My studies in U.S and U.K have enriched me with visual and intellectual inputs that became inspirational for the shaping of my work.’’ Her current work is inspired by the novel of Italo Calvino, ‘Invisible cities’, and purposes to present the city of Limassol as both, a concept and an experience. The author transports us not only to the visible parts that constitute a city such as the buildings and streets, but also he aims to transfer us to the remembrance of a city through the habits and customs of its inhabitants.  Elena states that a city is full of signs ready to be decrypted. Its history is engraved not only in the streets, buildings and monuments but also, in the stories and relationships between people which all together define the identity of the artist hometown, Limassol.

Her work is described as a synthesis of layers of past and present photographs which capture a certain moment in time. She expresses that: ‘…perhaps in this way one is able to travel back in time and maybe I can eventually succeed in leading the viewer into looking at sight through my own optical lenses.  If you take a walk in my city, Limassol, you will realize that it is a city of many contrasts, knitting modern and traditional architecture, a cauldron of stories through which if you take a closer look you will be able to decode its past and its culture.’