I get offered a cigarette from a friend that smokes. I take the cigarette as a memento of something that connects us. I do not smoke. I keep the cigarette and take it to my studio. I have four of those now – from a special someone, my flatmate, and two friends of mine. I take out the filling and replace it with black marble dust. Marble, along with clay, carry a special value of time and they connect me to my Greek heritage. Inside the cigarette the black marble dust resembles a burnt residue. I carve the wall in the exact shape of the cigarette and nest it there. With a lighter I slight burn the wall – only for the shadow of smoke. This piece represents for me a petrified moment in time, a moment against monumentality, one that connects me with my people, even though I do not smoke.