Paradox of Value
2023 Casted aluminum, outdoor sculpture You were here
2023 LightsignEdition of 3/3
Exhibition: Lavreotiki Art Project
︎︎︎ Publication THE ΤΕΛΟΣ SOCIETY | TTS, Arts & Culture Research Lab Observatorium
Duration: 01.10 - 10.10.202
Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio, Flotation Warehouse Hall, Lavrio
Twelve contemporary artists were invited to explore the intangible, material and environmental cultural heritage of Lavreotiki within the framework of the LAVREOTIKI ART PROJECT, an initiative of the artist Amalia Charikiopoulou.
Through contemporary art research and production, Lavreotiki art project has acted like a call proposing to go back to the land of Lavreotiki and discover its cultural landscape. In 2022, the artists participated in scheduled full-day tours in Lavreotiki and attended presentations that were organized in collaboration with cultural and artistic institutions. The research process is featured in the online publication “Lavreotiki art project”, which THE ΤΕΛΟΣ SOCIETY (2022) created. The participant artists will finalize their artworks throughout the summer.
The exhibition’s title ᾽The Land of Lavreotiki, the echo of a distant time᾽, makes a direct reference to the historical area and the land of the precious materials, which has been recognised as one of the longest lasting and most valuable mining centers. At the same time, it also serves as a reminder of the temporality of the landscape and the people who lived and worked there. The phrase ‘the echoes of a distant time’ is a lyric of the song “Echoes” by Pink Floyd (1971). The nostalgia that emerges from the verse is like an urge to move around and within the region’s cultural landscape, while the phrase could be a poetic formulation of the term ‘cultural heritage’.
The exhibition will be hosted in the Floating Building of the Technological Cultural Park of Lavrio, which has been declared a protected monument of industrial architecture. Attempting to unfold the spirit of the place (genius loci), the exhibition reproduces the feeling of touring the landscape of Lavreotiki and reveals the elements that make up its heritage, as experienced by the participants. Photography, painting, performance, installations, sculptures and video art are recommended as ways of approaching and caring for the "fragile wealth" (UNESCO's description of cultural heritage).
Participant artists: Maria Efstathiou, Alexis Fidetzis, Eva Isleifs, Georgia Kotretsos, Panayiotis Lamprou, Maria Nikiforaki, Campus Novel, George Palamaris, Katerina Papazissi, George Salameh, Vasiliki Sifostratoudaki, Augustus Veinoglou