Participating artists: Eleni Bagaki, Katerina Kana, Panos Papadopoulos, Zoë Paul, Petros Touloudis, Freddy Tuppen
Curated by Michelangelo Corsaro
The show will be open from the 22nd to the the 25th of May from 20:30 to 22:30, or by appointment.
Third floor, 9 Pittaki, Psirri, 10554, Athens
fotos by Freddy Tuppen
Depending respectively on an erotic or a scatological perspective, the circular shape of the anus is an obscene threshold that can be crossed in two directions. The anus is in fact the access to the obscurity of the cave, or so to speak, to the understanding of darkness as a principle of vision, one of abstraction and of mystical precision. It is in obscurity that abstract shapes turn into spiritual companions—when wood grain becomes populated with faces. Darkness, that is to say the absurd or meaningless, is the foundation of figurative intuition and of circular representation: abstract figures turn into accomplished images and vice versa. As stated by Theodore W. Adorno, "This darkness must be interpreted, not replaced by the clarity of meaning." (T. W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory)
The show is based on the contrast between lights and shadows, especially with regard to the boundary between figurativeness and abstraction. The figure of the anus works as both a sensual and spiritual object and as a conceptual abstraction of the threshold between clarity and darkness.
A light sculpture by Katerina Kana titled The colours must be restored, is the only electrically powered light source in the room. Playing with both a spiritual and visual abstraction, the neon light produces an acid array of coloured lights, creating at the same time a kaleidoscopic game of shadows. Three drawings by Petros Touloudis, from the same series of early studies, creates a transition from the figurative representation of the anus, to the representation of primitive figures of animals, to the complete abstraction of continuous lines. Eleni Bagaki created two abstract brain-shaped spray-painted objects made of papier-mâché. The sculptures sit on the floor, in front of a frame where the hand-coloured forms of plywood grain are used as a background for two vintage erotic photographs of fairly domestic ladies. Zoë Paul's interest for textiles is here represented by four small paintings on black silk, which take advantage of the lightness of the material to elaborate on delicate shades of black and discreet colour strokes. The artist also realised sitting arrangements resorting to her collections of blankets and created the second lighting element in the space—of natural light in this case—with an installation of candles and candle-sticks made of brass an concrete. Panos Papadopoulos participates to the show with a painting of his black sunglasses, which he often wears regardless of light and darkness. The painting is as much a self-portrait as it represent a personal object that serves as a very specific instrument of vision. Freddy Tuppen's painting experiments on the use of cyanotype and on the different reactions that this chemical produces with screened and direct sunlight. The drawing, originally realised with sun-screen on glass, is recorded on the canvas in different shades of blue through exposure to the sun.