THE BIRD WHO CAME FROM AFAR

My name is Alexander Papanikolaou, and I am a textile and knitwear specialist, technical innovator, and interdisciplinary creative from Greece, currently living and working between Leicester and the Isle of Man, with over 30 years of experience in the knitwear industry: from luxury fashion to high-performance textiles. I have created knitted products for brands like  Chanel, Chloe, Loro Piana, Prada, ASOS, M&S, and Peter Millar among others, bridging traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge machine programming. My technical knowledge is matched by a lifelong curiosity for art, poetry, language, and the stories we carry through our work.

Now, through my Creative Arts degree with the Open College of the Arts (OCA), I am exploring how personal history, myth, and creative process intersect. My project, The Bird Who Came From Afar, reflects my ongoing journey between lands, languages, and different media. I write poetry, capture photographs, and experiment with visual storytelling, often blending Greek and English in a voice I call “Greenglish.”

My work is deeply autobiographical. It draws on memory, migration, exile, and identity. Through poems like Penelope (in Me), Aeolus and Nausicaä, and Marble, I try to make sense of longing, resilience, and the quiet power of returning to oneself.

What I pursue through my studies is not only a degree, but a language of belonging — one that weaves together my life as a father, maker, migrant, and artist. This space is where I share that journey.