The Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece
organizes and presents the exhibition of twenty-eight international artists
: : KAIROS
Ανακάλεσμα της Γης
Recall of Earth
Opening: Thursday, 28 November 2019, at 20:00
MIET Thessaloniki Centre Villa Kapandji – 108, Vassilissis Olgas Ave.
A project at the confluence of visual arts, meteorology and philosophy.
Concept
Madalina Diaconu, Rainer Kaltenberger, Sophia Panteliadou
Curator
Sophia Panteliadou
Performance of Christian K. Schröder will take place on November 28, 2019 as part of the exhibition opening at MIET-Thessaloniki, at 21:00.
The exhibition is supported by the Austrian Embassy in Athens.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The word kairos might refer to natural phenomena (weather), however, it also might refer to temporality (time). The ambiguosity inherent to this word is the main subject of this exhibition. “KAIROS, Recall of earth”, is a cross-media exhibition discussing the relationship between humankind and the phenomena of natural events, in other words, it addresses to the diversity of possible entanglements between humans and nature.
The exhibition aims at drawing a picture of the psyche, with regard to the impact of natural phenomena on humans and the planet Earth. The participating artists took this idea as a starting point to reflect upon questions of society, everyday life, by means of different media, in order to give visibility to complex processes, being it visually or conceptually. The boundaries between levels of perception start to flow. The influence of the outside world becomes tangible and visible. Sensations are written in the body. The illusion of being able to control perceptions brings forward the experiences its own deregulation.
As Bruno Latour refers: "Earthing" concerns all Earth dwellers, both "the long-established (…) of the rich countries" and "their future inhabitants.” And, as the French sociologist and anthropologist points out: “To the migrants from outside who have to cross borders and leave their countries behind at the price of immense tragedies, we must from now on add the migrants from inside who, while remaining in place, are experiencing the drama of seeing themselves left behind by their own countries”.
In other words, the exhibition project is dedicated to the broad meaning of a topic, which emerges from the confluence of the following priority lines: firstly, we focus on the close relationship between everyday experiences and effects of perception in connection with subjects of research (such as meteorology); secondly, we question aspects whose focus emphasizes the distinction between 'weather' as a medium and 'weather' as a phenomenon. Like, among others:
- The sculptural landscape photographs by Mathias Kessler, display here an example of weather as a phenomenon. The artist questions the authenticity of nature and the romanticized aspiration of today's human search for originality and the untouched.
- The weather phenomenon — perceived as a medium — is visually and acoustically simulated in the video installations Thunderstorm by Thomas Glänzel and Lightning by Alfred Lenz. Through the speakers, the sound of the rain is running and the subwoofer creates a deep, dull thunder rumble. The thunderstorm takes place within a space, the displacement of the places - from outside to inside and vice versa - is chiasmatically linked. Alfred Lenz’s work Lightning shows a wooden construction with two percussion cymbals mounted on top. Through means of a handle, the drums are set in motion, clashing into each other, generating a lightning. When looking at the work, the question immediately arises: is the situation real?
- As a third instant, the red thread that implicitly crosses along the exhibition can also be linked to the question of temporality — on the one hand Kairos is the Greek word for "weather" and at the same time means "the right moment". The artworks reflect the ambiguity of the word »kairos« acting from their own point of view.
The artistic confrontation with seemingly theoretical questions evokes resistance, possibly opening up ways to the invisible potential of reflection. The consequences (including political) are sometimes severe and often not immediately visible. Questions like the following are hereby invested:
- What is the relationship of an aesthetic experience in everyday life in terms of experiences in art, in other words, what is the relationship between art and weather phenomena and the metaphorical language in the arts?
- Is "weather" a phenomenon that has the potential to show people their limits? Or does the horizon create unlimited possibilities in art through this medium?
The selected works relate to one another and address each of the various aspects of the topic from their own perspective. The above aspects include i.a. the works of: Miriam Bajtala, Maria Hubinger, Anni Kaltsidou, Mathias Kessler, Panos Kokkinias and Eva Petric. In particular, the works of Irini Athanassakis, Patrícia J. Reis and Ruth Schnell are dealing with the perception of visual and conceptual processes. Following the same idea, Christian K. Schröder experimental music performance links the perception of the visible with that of the audible.
As part of the exhibition project a workshop was held in collaboration with the Department of Digital Arts, from the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics of Austria. The ongoing result of the workshop in relation to the above considerations are reflected artistically by Manuel Cyrill Bachinger (AUT), Çağdaş Çeçen (TUR/AUT), Anna Watzinger (AUT), Laurus Edelbacher (AUT), and Ruth Zimmermann (AUT). The artworks shown here were presented on 4 October 2019 at the Venice Biennale – organized in the context of Biennale Sessions.
The work “Eco Geo” (an architectural model of a pavilion devoted to environmental information) by late architect and graphic designer Themistocles Vafias will be presented in the exhibition – a thankful gratitude to his family for donating his archive to ELIA/MIET.
ARTISTS
Irini Athanassakis (AU/GR/FR), Miriam Bajtala (SVK/AUT), ELECTROS (GR/USA), Gundi Feyrer (GER/AUT), Thomas Glänzel (AUT), Maria Hubinger (AUT), Anni Kaltsidou (GR), Mathias Kessler (AUT/USA), Panos Kokkinias (GR), Oliver Kowacz (AUT), Peter Kubelka (AUT), Alfred Lenz (AUT), Brigitte Mahlknecht (IT/AUT), Sabine Müller-Funk (GER/AUT), Eva Petriċ (SVN/AUT/USA), PRINZpod (AUT), Patrícia J. Reis (PT/AUT), Ruth Schnell (AUT), Christian K. Schröder (AUT), Helmut Swoboda (AUT), Mathias Swoboda (AUT), Themos Vafias (GR), Letizia Werth (IT/AUT).
Cover Photo: Ⓒ Mathias Kessler, Ilulissat W1 003, Greenland, 2007. Courtesy of Mathias Kessler and Galerie Heike Strelow, Frankfurt/Main
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