Cracking, 2018
Ceramic, concrete, wood, clay, steel, marble, plaster, plastic
30 X 22 cm
'Le Rayon X' and 'Six Heures avant l'été' (1980) by legendary Greek artist Christos Tzivelos (1949-1995) were the starting point for this show that centres on light but isn't about light. Felt as an effigy for June – not the proverbial month but those 30 days in 2018 – the show brings together works by Elena Narbutaitė, Rallou Panagiotou, Yorgos Prinos, Iris Touliatou, Christos Tzivelos and Kostis Velonis to make pronouncements on a raw, fertile state, which hasn't been assigned a name. In a sense, the show is about looking for wild love (Amour Fou), the alchemical Rebus (the androgynous being that fuelled Jung's individuation fantasies) or some other feeling of wholeness. It is also about processes that suspend this longing – stretch it out, preserve it, cast it, antagonise it, take its place even, until it is exhausted. Works are plugged in, hung, projected. Slowly they accumulate heat from the sun or from within the wall. Alchemically, we could say they begin as stars (those made of herbs) and planets (iron, copper, silver, gold) which young are black, orbiting in the dark. As they slowly grow and grow warmer, they turn yellow, then white, then finally become fully transmuted into a red, at which point they fluoresce.
Big thanks to Bia Papadopoulou and Christophoros Marinos for sharing their extensive research on the work of Christos Tzivelos and to Giannis Tzivelos for generously lending us the works of his uncle.
The show has a lifetime of several hundred hours.
When heated, it glows with visible light.
Elena Narbutaite, Rallou Panagiotou, Yorgos Prinos, Iris Touliatou, Christos Tzivelos, Kostis Velonis
Elena Narbutaite, Rallou Panagiotou, Yorgos Prinos, Iris Touliatou, Christos Tzivelos, Kostis Velonis
Curated by Maya Tounta
5 October until 27 October 2018
Haus N Athen
