The Thessaloniki Museum of Photography participates in China Lishui Photography Festival (opening: 6 November 2015) by presenting the exhibition:
Greek Stories Revisited
Participating artists: Christophoros Doulgeris, Yiannis Hadjiaslanis, Dimitra Lazaridou, Myrto Papadopoulos, Yorgos Prinos, Yannis Theodoropoulos, Leonidas Toumpanos, Eirini Vourloumis
Organization: Museum of Photography, Thessaloniki
Curator: Vangelis Ioakimidis
Τhe exhibition includes works by eight Greek artists featuring works that revolve around Greek stories, public and private.
The social issues arising from the powerful energy industry seated in the North of Greece are approached by the images of Leonidas Toumpanos “Place without time, without borders”. The Public Power Corporation in Greece functions as a symbol for environmental and political debates, as well as the obligatory relocation of villages.
Christophoros Doulgeris has undertaken an ongoing project “The Schools Project” which deals with the abandoned schools all over Greece ; his typological approach also instigates a discussion regarding architectural heritage and our general stance regarding the elements that form our identity.
Moving a bit further to the South, we reach the capital Athens. There are two projects which are linked to Athens. One on a larger scale and the other one showing everyday microcosms: Eirini Vourloumis “In Waiting” presents the interiors of public buildings revealing social and political implications while Yiannis Hadjiaslanis’ images of house interiors, particularly of “Bedrooms” give the viewer the opportunity of entering the lives of people, even though there is no human presence.
A glimpse of what then appeared as a more hopeful side of life is captured in the project by Yorgos Prinos. His “Eclipse” series functions in a twofold manner: a testimony of one of the biggest events that were hosted in Greece, the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 which is also a strong visual metaphor of the illusion of a non-existent affluence.
Revisiting the past in a contemporary manner, which was also one of the purposes of hosting the Games in Greece is also the theme of Myrto Papadopoulos “Metsovo 1900”. In this series of images there are re-enactments of everyday life in Metsovo, a mountainous region in Greece which left its mark as the home of many patrons and politicians ; a world of solidarity and self-governance, principles relevant and also much needed today.
And this brings us down to the unit, the person, and where it all starts from: home. Yannis Theodoropoulos’ works entitled “Sacred Wind” reach the core of intimacy with images that come from his parents’ house. Pillows, his own clothes and clothes of loved ones reconstitute memory by redefining the present creating lyrical images that convey this transition in time.
Finally the works by Dimitra Lazaridou entitled “Eclectic Heritage” also deal with personal issues, that bring to the forefront questions like “what my heritage is”. Her answers pay honor to artists like Klein, Antonioni, Magritte displaying an array of international cultural influences.
In this manner, by presenting aspects of current social issues, open questions which deal with one’s identity and history, the images manifest the spirit to confront the crisis: by doubting, researching, recreating, seeing beyond the surface – dynamically into the future.
This exhibition is presented there for the first time, on the occasion of the Lishui Photo Festival. All the works included were created after 2004.
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For more information: http://lssyj.lsphoto.org/?v=en