Dafni Bampanioti was born in 1990 in Greece and in 2008 decided to follow her dream to become an artist. She gained a BA in Fine Art from the Department of Fine Arts and Sciences of Art in Greece, and upon graduation decided to move to London, where she was accepted in the MA Fine Arts programme of University of East London. Her first year in London and UEL has had a tremendous impact on her work as an artist. Bampanioti believes herself to be incredibly lucky to be taught by Grenville Davey (1992 Turner Prize Winner) whose mastery and love for sculpture urged her to start thinking about her work on a three dimensional level.

During the beginning of the MA programme Bampanioti worked intensively on a series of drawings, paintings and photographs, all thematically linked by the intense presence of the female body. Soon she realised that her artworks needed to occupy the space and decided to create a series of sculptures. Inspired by the work of Antony Gormley and his investigation on the relationship between the human body and space, she used wire as her only material, trying in a way to recreate a three dimensional impression of her latest drawings. The final outcome of her research was presented for the first and last time at the MA Fine Art Final Showcase exhibition at University of East London in 2014. Her installation, entitled ‘The People’, consisted of five humane looking wire figures, approximately 2,5m tall each and made with 2500m of wire. For Bampanioti ‘The People’ was an attempt to create an atmosphere where existence and absence co-exist at the very same time and space. Essentially it represents the experience of everyday life which leaves us all exposed and alone.

Three years after the completion of her MA studies, her work continues to explore the female body and the human condition in general. Her main source of inspiration is the women she sees around her on an everyday basis. “I am intrigued by the way we, women, think and act. I am amazed by how concerned we are about our looks and I am inspired by the magnificence and holiness of our body.’’ She considers her research to be an open dialogue, rather than a response, about the way we feel in sight of a nude body, our insecurities and the objectification and criticism that the female body is subject to.