Portsmouth Open: Evagelia Hagikalfa

The Adventures of a Spinster I, II & III is a series of three lightboxes that reimagines the life of an unknown woman through her personal archive of 35mm slides. The work draws on photographs documenting more than three decades of travel throughout the UK and Europe with her constant companion, transforming these images into layered collages that invite new interpretations of a life preserved in fragments.

The project began when a friend donated two large bags of his aunt's slides, describing her simply as a "spinster who always travelled". This description immediately captured my attention. The word spinster carries complex social and historical meanings, suggesting both the stereotype of the unmarried woman and the possibility of a life lived independently of societal expectations. The repeated appearance of a female companion throughout the archive also raises questions about the nature of their relationship, opening up possible LGBTQ+ readings while resisting any definitive conclusion.

Through the processes of selection, editing and reassembly, the archive shifts from a private record into a space of speculation and reinterpretation. The layered compositions within the illuminated lightboxes create intimate, window-like views that allow audiences to engage with both the original photographs and their contemporary reimagining.
The work explores how archives are shaped not only by what they contain but also by what remains unknown. While each lightbox can be experienced independently, together they form an evolving chronicle of a lifetime. Revisited decades later, these images acquire new meanings informed by contemporary perspectives on gender, identity, companionship and memory. By reactivating an overlooked personal archive, The Adventures of a Spinster reflects on the fluid nature of historical narratives and the ways in which forgotten lives can be rediscovered, reinterpreted and transformed through acts of looking.