iera polis i/eromeni

An art show @ Salt Museum in Messolonghi

Concept and curated by Naira Stergiou & Eriphyli Veneri

Supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports

Salt Museum

Tourlida, Messolonghi / Greece 302 00

27-29.08.2021

COMOTIRIO presents the art exhibition Iera Polis I/eromeni in the surrounding area of the Salt Museum in Messolonghi in the context of the 3rd Messolonghi by Locals Festival.

Contemporary artists draw inspiration from the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of the unique Greek Sacred Town. Affected by the place and the landscape, the artists highlight the special local characteristics and attribute connections among the natural, the built and the transcendental. The conception and production of the works emerge through the development of an organic "erotic" relation with the connotations of the universal recognition of the Sanctity of Messolonghi as a glorious land (D. Solomos, The Free Besieged). The stillness of the lagoon and the Black salt pan of Tourlida compose around the Salt Museum a magical setting, in which the visitor is invited to stroll, to connect through the senses, and to encounter as well as interact with the nine on-site art installations.

GENERAL VIEW:

DRONE PICTURES by Messolonghi by Locals:

EXHIBITION MAP:

THE ARTWORKS:

1. Panos Charalambous

Τ.Κ.

posters, video loop, sound, 2015 (ongoing)

On July 20th 1999, Takis Karnavas, the Acarnanian agrorocker, shaman and lead singer passed away. He was born on April 3rd 1936. The day after his death, another artist from Acarnania, Panos Charalambous, printed 23.000 posters with his portrait, as many as the days of T.K. on earth. Since then, he has been engaged in continuous poster hangings in the form of announcing a folk festival or a memorial service in different parts of Greece and abroad. Now, in the Holy City of Messolonghi, 200 such posters will be presented. A floating poster on the water surface of the lagoon (video projection) will be summarizing the project.

2. Naira Stergiou

Salty Issues, Daddy Issues + Flamingos On Purple Background

mixed materials, variable dimensions, 2021

*the wreaths are kindly sponsored by the funeral office GEORGIADIS OE.

Once upon a time, King Lear from the exotic Messolonghi asked his daughter ‘"How much do you love me, my dear?". "I love you like salt", she replied. The flamingos froze, the herons stopped the song and the still purple lagoon started wrinkling. Oh we are screwed now, and we do not eat unsalted food.

3. Lydia Venieri

Cosmic Throne

iron and conch shells, 180 cm x 115 cm x 120 cm, 1991

The Cosmic Throne is an interactive and healing work. It is hemispherical in shape, and this form gives those who sit upon it the sensation of being at the center of the world. Its crown consists of a helmet with earcups made of seashells that, when worn, emit the sound of the waves, and the planispiral whorl of these seashells is structured to the Golden Rule. These mathematical factors in the seashells geometry convert the surrounding environmental noise into cosmic sound.

4. Panajotis Daramaras

Pelades-Pleiades

carved olive wood, variable dimensions, 2021

photos courtesy of the artist

A connection between two inverted constructions. Pelades, a houseboat's fixation. Pleiades, a movement of stars on the firmament. A semantic system made of carved wood creates an unspecified grammar able to receive any meaning, possibly a myth fixed on earth towards the light of the stars and vice versa. An attempt to help the language escape from its closed system and rise as the salt of the words.

5. Maria Papadimitriou

Untitled (Mud Baths 1-8)

photo series, variable dimensions, 2021

6. Eriphyli Veneri

Corte

mixed materials, variable dimensions, 2021

A rocky coral reef presents itself as something other than what it really is: a formless mass of cheap materials, polyurethane, dow, car sponges. It gains confidence and re-camouflages itself. A rocky coral reef plucks its reach from the seabed. It recasts its being from υπό + αλς towards new adventures. It wanders for a long time as a strange formation, feeling out of place always and everywhere. It suddenly stays put at an idyllic spot drawn by the lure of love. Delighted it now sits, letting itself go in a light and playful mood. It flips its hair with elegance and with a look full of meaning utters two compliments…

7. Kostas Christopoulos

Exoriare Aliquis Nostris Ex Ossibus Ultor ΙΙ

candle smoke on glass, variable dimensions, 2021

The phrase "Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor" belongs to Virgil and is quoted by the Anonymous Hellene in the work of Elliniki Nomarchia / Hellenic Nomarchy. The phrase is translated by its author as «Ἀναφανῆναι τις ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων ἡμῶν ἔκδικος», which in modern Greek is transcribed as "From our bones the avenger will jump out".

8. Spyros Aggelopoulos

Gitis

mixed media, 2021

While everyone in Agioi Anargyroi had a nickname, my uncle Argyrhs Aggelopoulos didn’t have one. Until the day that as he was playing with the local soccer team as a goalkeeper, to everyone’s surprise, he saved a certain goal by making a heroic exodus. From that day on he was known as Gitis. From the word Mesologgitis.

9. Thalia Chioti

Glissandi

video loop, no sound, variable dimensions, 2008

Picture one. A video projection where six eels move indeterminately, gliding, creating a choreography of instant entanglement. A texture. Picture two. The consolidation of the "texture" on the surface of the grill - salting the eels.