Epistoli Painting

Soteris Phoraris was born in Chicago, Illinois. His childhood was spent between the cities of Chicago and West Lafayette, Indiana. While in the United States Soteris would experience the unspoken, yet evident longing that immigrants (which where also his family) always feel for their homeland. He experienced both his mother's parents (which he was extremely close to) pass in a foreign country (until their final days reminiscing about their lost land of birth and origin), in eventuality only to return to their homeland for their last rights. Although painful at the time, only as an adult would Soteris realize the profound affect those events had on his persona and body of work. As an adolescent his father and mother decided to move the family back to Cyprus so their children could have the opportunity to experience the culture and people of their homeland. Adaptation was challenging but Soteris overcame cultural and linguistic barriers, and finished his secondary education on the island and also served a mandatory military stint. He returned to West Lafayette to study Fine Arts at Purdue University and was awarded a Bachelors of Arts Degree at the end of 2009. With the conclusion of his education Soteris returned to Cyprus in an attempt to explore further his concept and his identity as a product of a multinational upbringing.